The Torchwood Canary
by silkendreammaid
Summary: Torchwood One held many secrets and after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness discovers one of them - Ianto Jones. A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf. AU. eventual Jack/Ianto. Torchwood Three - Part 1
1. After The Battle part 1

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title:** After The Battle of Canary Wharf

**Disclaimer: **I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating: **PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes: **A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

**Summary: **Torchwood One held many secrets and after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness discovers one of them - Ianto Jones.

* * *

**After The Battle - Part 1**

Captain Jack Harkness stepped over another body and his scowl grew deeper. Six bodies he had passed and only two had been human. His disgust for Torchwood One increased with every step he took through the dark corridors. Their arrogance and carelessness had nearly brought about the end of the world and Jack Harkness had strong views on that magnitude of stupidity. It was almost unfortunate that there was no-one left that he could take his anger out on.

He swung his torch in a wide arc and made his way further through the lower levels of Canada One Square - also known as Canary One Tower - and up until six hours ago the previously impregnable Torchwood One. Impregnable until they'd managed to give two of the Universe's most deadly aliens access to this world. Not that they'd known that when they'd started experimenting and playing with things far beyond their understanding. And they hadn't listened to any warnings or cautions. Just barreled on ahead towards devastation and near extinction. Sometimes Jack wondered how humans had managed to survive this century let alone prepare for the future he knew lay ahead.

Earth could've been thrown back to the Dark Ages and beyond if it hadn't been for the Doctor's intervention Jack knew. Against daleks and cybermen the regression of society would have been inevitable. Survivors were the exception rather than the rule when either of those aliens were involved, and Earth had been extremely lucky that they had been intent on destroying each other first.

"_Jack, we've found survivors on the fifteenth floor." _ The cockney voice crackled through his ear piece and Jack stopped walking.

"How many?"

"_Two.__ They're in deep shock but seem okay otherwise." _There was a pause and the sound of muted voices. _"Gonna send 'em to the triage tent out front."_

"Alright Owen. How many does that make?"

"_Nine so far."_

"Out of over eight hundred," Jack sighed. It could have been a lot worse. The Canary Wharf development held over forty thousand workers. If the damage had not been confined to the Tower the death toll would have been horrendous. As it was no-one had yet given any thought to the many civilian deaths that had occurred when the cyberman had fully materialized around the world.

"_Not odds I'd be betting on," _Owen replied and the hint of sarcasm made Jack grin. _"And on a lighter note, sixteen more conversion units were found here too. UNIT want to keep one, I told 'em to fuck off. Colonel moron wants to speak to you about it. And my behaviour too probably."_

"Colonel moron?" Jack questioned. "Which one is that?"

"_Moore. The fat one."_

"I'll speak to him when I'm finished down here. If he tries anything call me straight away."

"_Sure. How much longer will you be?"_

"I'm at Sub Five now."

"_Christ, did they get down that far?"_

"Yes." Jack looked around the darkened corridor. "I'm guessing most were herded upstairs and I'm just finding the ones who fought back." Jack didn't need to elaborate. Both men had seen the same on every floor.

"_Do you want me to send the corpse collectors down?" _Owen asked referring to the group of soldiers who had been given the task of gathering the bodies.

"Not yet. Let me finish clearing the level. They've got more than enough to keep them busy up there."

"_Yeah, they're trying to get more people to help. UNIT's called in another couple of squads."_

"Contact Suzie and get her to ring Knealy at the Palace and Thompson at Downing Street. Tell them we're keeping them informed and in the loop and if UNIT oversteps the boundaries we've set then I want their backup when I lose my temper with UNIT."

"_Right."_Jack could almost hear Owen smirk. _"Because that's something you never do." _Jack laughed. They both knew it happened far too often some weeks.

"I'm going to keep on going. Call if you need me."

Jack tapped his earpiece to disconnect the call and took a breath. He was glad he'd brought Owen along with him, not that he'd ever tell the man that. Owen Harper was a walking sarcastic pain in the ass but he was a damned good doctor and Jack trusted him to more than hold his own against the UNIT soldiers above. With Owen in control upstairs and Suzie's backup from their base in Cardiff Jack was free to search through the sub levels without interference.

There were too many secrets down here and Jack had no intention of sharing them. Technology considered too important or too dangerous to be readily accessible had been stored down here. Two of the sub levels were no more than large laboratories fitted out with equipment not of Earthly origins. Another level consisted of Archives. Rows and rows of boxes and cabinets filled with files and catalogued items. This lowest level held the deepest secrets.

"If it's alien, it's ours," Jack muttered as he started walking again. Torchwood One's underlying policy. Take it and use it. And not just technology. Jack paused as he came across another body. Not human but alien. Torchwood had caught and imprisoned any they found. Kept them sequestered down here. Experimenting and testing, allowing them no escape and no rescue.

Jack had often argued with Yvonne, demanding access, and always been refused. Yvonne had denied their very existence. Yvonne Hartman, Director of Torchwood One and possibly the most stubborn bitch Jack had ever met. Arrogance and self-righteousness had been her attack and defense and he had never been able to get past that. Her body had not been found yet and much as he hated her, the thought she might have been converted was something he wouldn't wish on his most hated enemy.

Jack sighed as he looked at the body. He'd have to find some way of disposing of it and the others he'd seen earlier before UNIT came down here. He did not want it to end up on a UNIT examination table. UNIT might not have an aggressive policy regarding aliens like Yvonne had had but Jack knew they wouldn't hesitate if given an opportunity.

Jack moved forward again, torch swinging from side to side. All the power had been cut to the Tower and he doubted the lights would be coming on any time soon. From what he had seen upstairs the cybermen had routed the power and backup generators to their conversion units and it was going to take hours to re-route it back. Jack wondered briefly what would happen to the Tower itself and decided that as long as Torchwood One was never resurrected and everything removed from the building then it could crumble for all he cared.

He turned another corner and found another empty corridor. Several doors stood open and he knew they would lead into small cells all empty now their occupants no longer lived. Jack wasn't surprised that the aliens had put up more of a fight against the cybermen than the humans had. Cybermen were one of the monsters in the closet that parents warned their children about on nearly every planet Jack could name.

Jack paused, his head tilting to one side as his ears caught the faintest whisper of sound. He held his breath as he played the torch slowly along the walls. Just as he was about to draw breath he heard it again. A soft noise of something shifting. Jack's eyes narrowed and he trod carefully as he moved down the corridor. Stealth was out of the question. The light from his torch had obviously been seen, but Jack had no wish to walk into a possible ambush. He kept his pace steady, walking down the middle of the corridor as he approached the first door. He angled himself slightly, a hand at his side to release the Webley from its holster. With its comforting weight against his palm and the torch held still, he smoothly swiveled through the open door and into the room.

Gun and torch swept the room and found it empty. Jack moved through the small cell searching through the disturbed bedding and basic amenities. Still nothing and he moved back into the corridor making his way to the next room.

At first he thought this room to be as empty as the first. Until the light flashed over the huddled form caught between the bed and cupboard. Eyes squinted and blinked rapidly before a shaky hand lifted to cover them from the light.

"Sorry," Jack said without thought as he moved the torch and it shone upwards to the ceiling diffusing the light between them.

"Thank you," a hoarse voice replied and Jack's eye brow rose. He hadn't expected a reply and certainly not one in English and with an accent that he recognized.

"You sound Welsh."

"That would be because I _am_ Welsh." The quick response had Jack grinning.

"Gotta love those Welsh vowels," Jack quipped. He studied the face barely visible above a dark covering, probably a blanket. Male, young with dark hair. Streaks of what was probably blood ran down the left side of his face and even in the reflected light of the torch Jack could see shadows under his eyes. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, who are you?"

"Of Torchwood Three?" The man moved and Jack recognised the shifting whisper he had heard earlier. The blanketed man settled deeper into his niche.

"You've heard of me?" Jack lowered his weapon and stared at the young man.

"Who hasn't?" Another quick response and Jack felt his curiousity increasing. He hunkered down and faced the man with a serious look.

"Who are you?"

"Jones, Ianto Jones." There was a hesitancy to the words as if he expected Jack to recognize them. Jack's mind was blank. He'd never heard the name before.

"And why are you hiding down here Jones, Ianto Jones?"

There was a pause and Ianto Jones shifted before he replied in a careful manner, "I live here."

Jack blinked. "You _live _here?" Several questions came to mind immediately as he stared at the young man. He'd never heard of anyone human living on the sub levels which caused his questions to multiply rapidly, and one thought overrode everything. Torchwood One was no more and Jack wasn't about to let anyone live in the ruins. "Not anymore you don't."

Ianto Jones started at Jack's blunt statement. His face paled alarmingly, noticeable even in the dim light and his mouth opened but nothing came out. His eyes were wide and he appeared frozen in place. Jack reached over and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder ready to assure him that he'd be looked after. Jack froze, the words unspoken as his hand touched something unexpected.

"What…?" Jack swallowed and focused his eyes and torch on what he had assumed to be a blanket. Not a blanket but feathers. Smooth feathers of dark brown with pale tips. Jack kept his touch light as he stroked downwards. The feathers were soft and warm under his fingers and he inched closer. He ran his fingers gently between several feathers and found warm skin that felt thin and delicate.

"Do you _mind_?" Ianto Jones sounded highly offended and he tried to move away but with little success. He was firmly wedged in his little niche which left him with two choices. Going forwards was out of the question with the Captain hunched right in front of him or standing up. He chose the second option and staggered unsteadily to his feet leaning heavily against the wall behind him.

Jack rose with him and the changed position gave Jack a better view of Ianto Jones. Wings. The young man had wings that he was pulling away from Jack's questing fingers. Jack wanted to reach out again but didn't. The young man was still very pale and visibly shaky. Upright he was nearly the same height as Jack but of a more slender build. He was clad in jeans and had a half-unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt. Torchlight was not the best for determining colours and Jack really wasn't that interested. It was the wings he stared at. Not that he could see them properly anymore. Ianto had folded them behind himself. _Just like a bird_ Jack thought.

"I apologise. It's been a while since I saw such a fine pair," and Jack paused for the innuendo to be noticed and grinned as he continued "of wings". He was rewarded with an eye-roll and the pale face flared with sudden colour.

"I bet it has," Ianto mumbled and Jack grinned again.

"So… are they natural or what?" Jack put an audible leer into his words and Ianto stared at him, disbelief writ all over his face as the colour left his face and he was extremely white again. He shook his head and had to try twice before he could speak.

"It… There was an incident." Ianto swallowed. "I ended up with them."

"Shame. You'd fit right in on Galdos." Jack let the flirty overtones drop. "So how did you just happen to end up with a pair of wings, Ianto Jones?"

"I would have thought you'd have heard about it, Captain." There was a nervousness in Ianto's reply that Jack didn't like.

"No. Yvonne wasn't the sharing type. I however, am more open. More open to most things really," Jack replied in all seriousness and he saw Ianto stare at him as if trying to judge just how serious he was.

"It was a retrieval." Ianto spoke softly without confidence. "Just a black box in the middle of Hampstead Heath…"

"Hampstead Heath?" Jack interrupted in surprise.

"Near Kenwood House to be exact," Ianto told him. "We found it in the middle of the woods. They say it was probably damaged and that's why… that's why those of us there were changed."

"You weren't the only one?" Jack queried with a frown. "Why haven't I heard about this? How many were affected?"

"The whole team. Five of us."

"And you all got wings?" Jack fluctuated between anger and curiousity. Anger at not having known about this. As Head of Torchwood Three he should have been notified of this. And curious because he had never heard of anything like it before.

"No, two of us got wings. The others… the others were different." Ianto rubbed his hands together in a quick nervous gesture. "The box was a DNA splicer. It mixed our genes with genes taken from around us. Will and Terry were part fox, Mark part badger. Karen and I got the wings. Apparently she'd been spliced with a bat."

"What happened to them?" Jack asked gently already fearing he knew the answer.

"Mark's change went wrong. He was in a lot of pain and he had a stroke three weeks later. Will died on the operating table. Terry went insane and attacked a guard, he was shot. Karen committed suicide."

"And why are you still alive Ianto Jones?"

"Mam always said I was stubborn." Ianto shrugged and tried hard to sound casual but Jack knew it hadn't been anywhere near easy and he probably had no idea how he'd managed to stay both sane and alive. Sometimes survivors just survived.

"When did this happen?"

"Two years ago."

Jack was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe something like this had been kept hidden for so long. Torchwood was a secret agency, it was well-versed in keeping secrets but like all top secret organizations it had a very active internal rumour mill. Jack never sought out the rumours but enough trickled from One to Three to keep him up-to-date, but there hadn't even been a whisper of this. A DNA splicer? People becoming part-animal? Jack wondered how deep the change went. He looked at Ianto. The young man had probably been the subject of every possible experiment and test to answer that question.

"I'd like to know more but we really have to go now."

"I can't." Ianto shook his head. "I'm not allowed to leave the sub levels."

"Ianto, the cybermen and daleks have slaughtered just about everyone in the building. There's no-one to stop you and there's no way I'm leaving you down here."

"I…I can't…" Ianto slipped back down to the floor and Jack let his breath out before kneeling in front of Ianto.

"You can. You have to. You can't stay here. Where's that stubbornness you mentioned?" Jack kept his voice even and gentle, trying not to spook the young man. He was not prepared for Ianto to extend his left arm and pull the sleeve back. A flat strap was wrapped around his wrist and Jack stiffened as he recognized it. A restraining band similar to those used on criminals under house arrest, but this one was definitely not man-made.

"This keeps me in the sub-levels."

"And shocks the hell out of you when you try. Tracker too and physical monitoring."

"Yes," Ianto whispered and Jack heard the shame in it.

"Not your fault. Just one more to add to the slate. God, I hate One." Jack studied the band for a moment and then flipped the cover on his own wrist strap. Several buttons were pressed and there was a small beep. "There, that's all fixed. I can't actually remove the band itself right now. We'd need a laser saw for that but at least you can move around and no-one can track you either."

"..and my wings?" Ianto asked nervously after he had examined his now deactivated restraint.

Jack pursed his lips. Ianto was right to be nervous. UNIT and all sorts of people would be very interested in young Mr Jones if he suddenly appeared amongst them.

"We'll hide them and get you some place safe." Jack grinned. "How would you feel about coming to work with me at Cardiff?"

Ianto stared at him, eyes very wide and slack-mouthed. "Just like that?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Pretty much," Jack said with supreme confidence.

"You're insane."

"Nah, just gifted." Jack grinned. "Come on, let's get you out of here," and Jack held out his hand. Ianto stared at the hand for the longest moment before he placed his trembling hand in it.

"Alright," and Ianto found himself on the receiving end of an approving smile as Jack pulled him upwards.

* * *

..

* * *

Author's Note: This is the first of three parts that comprises "After The Battle" and will post them over the next few days or so rather than lumping them all into one post... and now off to play with the dragon again....

enjoy

silken :)


	2. After The Battle part 2

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title:** After The Battle of Canary Wharf  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating: **PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes: **A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

**Summary: **Torchwood One held many secrets and after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness discovers one of them - Ianto Jones.

Definitions for the anatomical terminology used are included at the end of this part.

* * *

**After The Battle – Part 2**

Jack smiled at the young man and pulled him upwards. Ianto swayed and Jack tightened his grip.

"Hold my torch," he ordered gently as he pushed it into Ianto's other hand. Ianto blinked as his hand automatically closed on the torch angling it to avoid blinding them both in the strong light. With his hand now free, Jack moved closer and held Ianto's chin in a light grip, turning his head to peer at the stains on Ianto's face. "Feeling dizzy? Light-headed? Head-ache?"

"Little bit," Ianto replied blankly as he felt off-balance both physically and mentally by the Captain's proximity and by the scent that suddenly pervaded his nose. He hadn't figured the Captain to be a cologne wearer but whatever brand he was wearing was making Ianto's skin itch in a strange and not unpleasant way.

"Which one?" Jack queried as his hand left Ianto's chin and brushed up into matted hair. Ianto winced but didn't move away.

"All of them." Ianto saw the Captain frown.

"Someone needs to check you out, but…" The Captain's voice trailed off and Ianto was rather bemused as the Captain's fingers kept stroking through his hair while the Captain frowned and glowered through several thoughts. Ianto didn't know what confused him more. The fact that he was letting a complete stranger do what amounted to petting him, or the fact that he had effectively put his life in the hands of that same stranger.

Ianto Jones had heard about Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood Three. _Everyone_ had heard about the Captain and they'd all emphasized that under no circumstances did you trust him. He was unpredictable, he followed no rules and delighted in defying One at every opportunity. Rumour had it that Yvonne Hartman often misquoted Henry the Second's infamous plea to several of her personal aides after meetings with the Captain. The _'turbulent Captain'_ nickname had even made it down into the sub-levels and Ianto had explained it to his fellow detainees with an appreciative grin. Detainees. Torchwood One's euphemism for prisoner.

"Owen?" The Captain's voice pulled Ianto out of his thoughts and he saw the hand that had been petting his hair was now pressed to the Captain's ear. It took Ianto a moment to realise that he could see the tiny gleam from an active com-link. If it hadn't been so dark he doubted he would've seen it all.

"Owen, contact Suzie, get her to come here… because I said so, tell her she has to leave _now_, I want her here three hours ago, then I want you to get down to Sub One _without _anyone following you… I don't really care what you tell 'em, just be there in ten minutes." Jack let his hand drop and looked at Ianto. "Come on Ianto, you have a doctor's appointment."

"I do?" Ianto asked as Jack took his torch back.

"Yep. Doctor Owen Harper, he works with me so you don't have to worry." Jack smiled again and Ianto rolled his eyes. If the Captain thought that was supposed to make Ianto feel better he was rather mistaken. It didn't matter who they worked for, Ianto knew that doctors were to be mistrusted. Especially a Torchwood doctor.

When the Captain tugged at his hand and began to walk to the door Ianto felt his heart rate increasing. He wasn't sure if it was the thought of meeting this Owen Harper doctor or the realisation that once he stepped through that door he'd probably never return.

"What about my stuff?" Ianto asked trying hard to control his anxiety as he approached the door.

"We'll get it later." Jack reassured him. The torch flashed around the room. "You don't have much," he added as non-committally as he could.

"No," Ianto replied equally blandly. "But… I'd like to have my clothes. They've … been altered to fit."

"Of course," Jack said with a nod as he kept Ianto moving out of the door and into the corridor. "I'll make sure they're all packed. Now we need to get to Sub One to meet Owen. I came down the stairs near the lifts."

"There's an internal set of stairs at the end of the next corridor," Ianto offered.

"Okay, lead the way Mr Jones." Jack waved the torch in front of them in clear invitation for him to lead and Ianto hesitantly moved forward. Jack let the young man's hand slip from his and he dropped back a step to follow Ianto. Still holding the torch and directing it in front of them gave Jack the opportunity to unobtrusively study Ianto's wings.

They were still folded against his back and covered him to his knees. Dark brown, the same shade as Ianto's hair, with lighter tips that Jack thought might be cream in a better light. One wing sat lower and was not pulled in as close as the other and Jack tried to see where they sprouted. _Probably close to his spine _he thought looking at the way they rose above his shoulders to the first joint and then curved downwards. Jack was fairly certain they'd be impressive when spread.

Ianto stopped as they rounded the corner and Jack cursed silently. He'd forgotten the bodies and the torch picked them up clearly. Ianto walked forward and carefully knelt by the first one, his wings splaying out as they rested on the floor. Jack moved to stand beside him making sure not to stand on his wings. They both looked at body. Of humanoid build with long arms and a tail, it had a blunt face that reminded Jack of a lizard. Jeans and a long sleeved shirt covered scaled skin.

"Ephlisti," Jack said in recognition of the species. "From the M'lern system."

"They called him Harry but he told me his name was Ortis. Well, that was the closest I could pronounce it." Ianto reached out and brushed a soft frill of skin that curved across the scaly head. "He'd been here four months. We'd started trying to learn each other's language. I was hoping he'd survive now he'd made it through the first three months. So many don't." Ianto sighed as his hand stroked. "Deleted by cybermen. Quicker and cleaner than death by Torchwood."

"Ianto…" Jack felt he to protest but the Welshman wasn't listening to him.

"They came down here and went through every floor pushing everyone upstairs. But we detainees couldn't. The restraints… we all have them." Ianto's words echoed in the corridor. "We had no choice but to refuse. There's only seven of us, it should have been easy to stay unnoticed but they were thorough in their searching, there was no where to hide. Bill and I tried to keep them safe… we tried to help the others too but they wouldn't risk it. They knew we couldn't leave the sub-levels but they could. I think they hoped they'd get saved once they were upstairs." There was an underlying mocking tone to the final words and Jack noticed it.

"There was no saving them, Ianto. Cybermen don't take prisoners. They kill everyone they don't convert. There was nothing you or anyone could have done to stop them. Even while they were fighting the daleks, they were mass converting everyone they could." Jack saw Ianto shiver.

"The daleks. We could hear them above. Waiting just outside the doors. They let the cybermen do all the searching down here and as soon as they walked back up the daleks slaughtered them all. I could hear everyone screaming and the daleks and cybermen shooting and shouting and I couldn't help because of the damned restraint! Twenty feet from the sub doors to the basement and I couldn't … couldn't do a fucking thing."

"There was nothing you could do," Jack repeated.

"... still had to try." There was a long pause before Jack saw Ianto take a deep breath before leaning forward to straighten the body, moving it closer to the wall. "I wish there was something I could do for him. For all of them," he added as he looked further down the corridor to the next body.

"We'll think of something. Is there a way to seal these levels off?" Jack asked.

"Yes. We've always had restricted access. Not many of those upstairs were ever allowed down here and they didn't want anyone getting in accidentally either. A lot of people don't know there's anything below the basement levels."

"Alright, after Owen's checked you, we'll get the locks fixed. The cybermen probably just blasted their way in so we'll need to fix that first. Then we'll sort out what to do with Ortis and the others."

"Did anyone survive?" Ianto suddenly asked, looking up at Jack.

"Ten so far and that includes you." Jack paused as he kept his eyes and voice steady. "You're the only person I've found alive down here."

"I know. By the time the cyberman had taken the others up to the basement I was the only one left, and after the daleks attacked I ran to my room and hid." Ianto began to stand up, rising slowly with his wings settling into place. "Quite the coward I am."

"That's not what I'm hearing," Jack said, indicating with his hand that they should keep moving. "Sounds to me like you kept your head and did more than most people did." Ianto began to walk and Jack paced beside him. "And there's no shame in hiding. Not when daleks are about. I would have been racing you for that hiding spot if I'd been here." Jack flashed Ianto a wide grin and moved to walk in front of the younger man.

Ianto caught a whiff of the man's cologne again as he passed and stared at the broad back cloaked in the heavy coat. Cybermen and daleks and Captain Jack Harkness. _Oh my_. Ianto wondered how much more he could take today.

* * *

"Jesus! He's got _wings!_"

Ianto flinched at the exclamation and stopped in the doorway. He stayed close to the door frame almost inching back into the shadows of the corridor behind him. A short man with even shorter hair and a strong cockney accent stood in the middle of what had been the lobby for the sub-levels. A couple of free-standing lights had been placed to illuminate the area, two chairs had been pushed into the middle and he had a back pack by his feet.

"I see your powers of observation haven't failed you Owen," Jack remarked as he walked towards the short man. "Although you still need a lot of work on your diplomatic skills."

"Fuck off, Harkness." The man wore jeans under a coat that had once been white but was now blood -stained and crumpled.

"And I hope you are alone. I really don't need UNIT breezing in here." Jack spoke without emphasis but it was easy to hear the unasked question.

"We found another survivor so I said I'd take him down to triage and check on the others while I was there." The short man shrugged. "Besides they found some tech and were all gaga over it. I don't think they even saw me go."

Jack frowned. "Find out what they've got when you get back up there. I need you to check Ianto out first." Jack turned and waved for Ianto to come closer. "This is Owen, my team's doctor. Despite his obviously dreadful bedside manner, he does manage to keep us all alive."

Ianto stepped into the room looking doubtful and feeling very nervous. This was where the restraining bands were supposed to be triggered. This was as far as the bands had allowed them to move. Torchwood One had told him the boundaries when they had set the band on his wrist and then brought him up here to demonstrate. They'd told him it was supposed to send a small electric pulse to his nervous system and give him a minor shock. The settings had been too high and no-one had known until he'd dropped to the floor from a shock induced heart attack. According to the report on the incident he'd been clinically dead for one minute and fifteen seconds before they'd managed to resuscitate him.

Ianto had always had a dread of this room since then. He knew he could get halfway before the boundary was reached. They'd tested it again once he had recovered and they'd changed the settings. _And hadn't that been a fun day_ he thought cynically. Even Yvonne Hartman had made an appearance and Ianto still wasn't sure if they'd expected it to go wrong again. He did know that they never tested the other restraining bands after that.

As Ianto approached them Jack saw his right hand grip at his left wrist over the now defunct restraining band. His pace became more hesitant as he moved further from the door and Jack could almost see Ianto's shoulders getting tenser as if expecting to receive a shock.

"Ignore Harkness, Ianto wasn't it? Come and sit down birdman, I don't bite. Jack will though, if you're not careful." Owen spoke cheerfully as he pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and Ianto blinked at the casual insult and the full on leer the Captain gave in response. The attitude was so different to what he was used to that Ianto found himself sitting down before he realised it. He thought he should be offended but Owen was flashing a light in his eyes and twisting his head around and appeared completely focused on what he was doing.

"How bad's his head?" Jack asked as Owen's hands sifted lightly through and around the matted hair on Ianto's head.

"Not as bad as it looks. Head wounds always look worse than they are. Probably just needs a couple of stitches to be on the safe side," Owen replied as he moved his finger in front of Ianto's eyes. "I'm guessing a headache to go with that lump and the mildest case of concussion I've seen in a while." Owen stepped across to his bag and dragged it close. He knelt in front of Ianto and rummaged through it. "I have painkillers for the headache. You're not allergic to anything are you?"

"No." Ianto watched as Owen pulled out a water bottle and a foil strip of tablets along with a stethoscope. The water bottle and tablets were unceremoniously dumped into his lap as Owen stood up.

"Take two of them while I listen to your heart," Owen ordered and Ianto was once again thrown by the doctor's manner. He sounded so casual yet his hands moved with surety and confidence. There was none of the blustering or exaggerated politeness that he'd come to detest from his usual doctors. The cold disc of the stethoscope had him arching back and then hissing. Ianto looked down to see the doctor's hand disappearing under his t-shirt and then looked up. Sharp eyes met his wary expression. "Where else are you hurt?"

Ianto shifted automatically, his left shoulder lifting and his right side folding inwards, in a completely obvious attempt to hide his other injury. The doctor kept staring at him as he waited.

"Tell me birdman."

"Ribs on my right side," Ianto heard himself mumble before his voice got louder. "And you can stop calling me 'birdman'. It's offensive."

The doctor shrugged. "It's also completely accurate - unless you're actually an alien and not human after all." Owen withdrew his hand and stethoscope. "Lift your shirt and let's have a look at those ribs then."

"The Captain was right. Your bedside manner is dreadful," Ianto retorted as he pulled his t-shirt free of his jeans and pulled it upward exposing his right side.

"I don't _have_ a bedside manner. My patients are usually dead and they don't have any complaints," Owen replied as he studied the bruised and scraped skin. Fingers pressed lightly and Ianto tensed up biting at his lip. "Bruised but I don't think you've broken anything. How did you get it?"

"Thrown against a wall." Ianto shivered as the doctor kept prodding at his ribs and along his side.

"Your ribs seem okay but the muscle's definitely bruised. And, while I don't know much about avian musculature I'm thinking that those wings of yours are making it worse. They're pulling at the muscles over your ribs – I'll spare you the medical terminology this time …"

"The trapezius and infra-spinatus muscles on my back do what the pectorals and supracoracoideus do for birds," Ianto interjected. Owen didn't blink.

"In that case the latissimus dorsi are lying under the trapezius in the dorsal region so the weight of the wings is pulling on the ... hang about." Owen stopped and stared at the young man as he suddenly realised what Ianto had said. "_How _are the infra-spinatus muscles involved? They're under the trapezius and …oh." Owen blinked and a gleam appeared in his eyes. Ianto shrank back. He knew _that_ look. "The wings connect to the scapula somehow don't they? Maybe at the infra-spinatus fossa. There'd have to be a new joint in there and the muscles would have to go around it." Owen stared hard at the Welshman as if he could see right down to the bone and Ianto swallowed hard.

"Uh no, not quite," he managed to say.

"How _'not quite'_ is it?" Owen asked.

"There's no new joint. There's a connection that seems to be mainly bone but a fair amount of cartilage as well that's joined to the vertebral border of my shoulder bones. It rises up to the first joint of my wings. The muscles kind of follow it upwards as well." Ianto shook his head rather dazed to hear himself talking so freely to a doctor who had that _ooh-test-subject- can-I-cut-you-open_ gleam in his eyes. "It's easier to see on the x-rays," Ianto added. He hadn't had to explain his condition to anyone in a long time and he really didn't want to do that anymore. He knew the terminology, he knew exactly what had happened but it wasn't something he felt comfortable discussing with strangers. And Owen Harper despite his disconcerting manner was still a stranger.

"I want to see them."

"Another day, Owen," Jack Harkness interrupted and didn't miss the relief that flashed across Ianto's face. _At least he understands what Owen's going on about_ Jack thought. He'd been unable to follow their conversation. He was going to have to have a look at the x-rays as well. Jack had always done better with visuals. "There's plenty of time for that. Right now I need to know how injured he is."

Owen looked disgruntled but didn't argue the point. "Okay, he has a mild concussion. The bruising doesn't look too deep but without doing a scan I can't be certain." Owen looked from Jack to Ianto. "Those ribs are going to ache for a few days, birdman." Jack gave a low growl as Ianto glared. Owen smirked briefly and carried on. "No heavy lifting and you need to rest. Staying here is _not_ a good idea. You're slightly shocky and the longer you stay here the worse it will get."

"As soon as Suzie gets here, I'll be taking him to Cardiff," Jack said casually. Owen and Ianto turned to look at the Captain with identical expressions of surprise.

"You're needed here," Owen protested.

"You and Suzie can manage while I'm gone. As soon as Ianto's settled in, I'll come straight back."

"You're just going to leave him there?" Owen asked in a voice so flat it didn't sound much like a question.

"You said he's not seriously hurt and Tosh will be there. She can make sure he rests and takes his painkillers."

"Tosh can't watch the Rift and him at the same time! What if something comes through or there's a weevil alert?"

Ianto watched them as the moment of surprise passed leaving him rather confused as to what he was feeling and what he thought he should be feeling. One thing he was certain of was that the shock of the day was not getting a chance to develop because everything else was distracting him.

"Tosh is resourceful and careful. She won't go off chasing weevils on her own and she'll be monitoring anything that comes through. And it's only until I get back here. Then Suzie can go back. Tosh won't be on her own for too long."

"He's One! I thought you didn't like anyone from One."

"I don't, but they've kept him imprisoned down here for two years. He's a victim."

"I am still One and I don't feel like a victim." Ianto stood up and they looked at him. "I am… _was _a detainee. I wasn't kept in my room and only let out at specified times. I wasn't mistreated or neglected or deliberately abused. They didn't even call me names." Ianto stared at Owen. "Yes, there was… scientific curiousity that did have painful results and yes, I was restricted to the sub-levels but I have… _had _a job and several friends. I could have holed up in my room and been every inch the victim if I'd wanted to but I didn't." Ianto's hands began to shake but he wasn't aware of it as he continued. "I've never thought that making the best out of a bad situation made me a victim."

"It does, Ianto," the Captain said carefully. "They gave you no choice but to accept their terms."

"Neither have you, Captain." Ianto's voice was calm and they both looked at him. "The choice you gave me was no real choice. Go with you or stay here for UNIT. Either way I'm going to be restricted in where I can go and I'm going to be subjected to scientific curiousity. The most I can hope for now is that you will at the least offer me slightly better accommodation than I had here and a job." Ianto notice his hands shaking and crossed his arms, hiding his hands beneath them.

"What did you do here?" Jack asked.

"I worked in the Archives."

Jack grinned brightly. "Then I'll offer you the job of being our Archivist."

"We have archives?" Owen asked. "Where?"

"Where all the boxes are," Jack told him.

"I thought that was a storeroom."

Jack shook his head. "No. They're just waiting to be filed. The archive rooms are actually behind the boxes."

Ianto blinked. "Your archives are blocked by unsorted boxes?"

"Yep." Jack nodded without any shame. "Maybe you can get them filed and out of the way because we'll need the space for all the stuff from here."

"What stuff from here?" There was an ominous note in Ianto's voice and he uncrossed his arms and placed his now steady hands on his hips.

"All of it," Jack said blithely. "I'm not leaving it here for UNIT or anyone else to find. We'll box it up and transport it to you in Cardiff, then you can sort and catalogue to your heart's content." Jack smiled in a very self-satisfied manner and Ianto's knees trembled and he sat down abruptly.

"Is he for real?" he asked Owen. Owen felt equally stunned and hid it beneath his usual disgruntlement. He turned to his bag, looking for his suture kit.

"Not today, he's not."

* * *

Jack watched Ianto walk around the sub-level archives. He was trying to keep the younger man occupied and distracted while they waited for Suzie. They'd already been back down to his room and gathered most of his belongings. Jack had been rather surprised at the appearance of several suits and matching shirts from the slim cupboard. They'd placed them carefully in a box along with the rest of his clothes and Jack had carried it up with them to the archives.

Ianto had tossed a couple of books and toiletries into the box and that seemed to be all the personal possessions he had. It bothered Jack but he didn't say anything. He'd wait until Ianto was settled comfortably in Cardiff and then he'd make sure that the Welshman had anything he wanted as well. Whether or not he was compensating for offering Ianto what amounted to exchanging one captivity for another, Jack didn't know but he knew he didn't want to feel guilty about it. No matter what Ianto had said earlier, Jack _knew_ Ianto was a victim and more than that, Jack knew exactly what it felt like to be kept by Torchwood because you were different to everyone else.

He'd helped Ianto moved the bodies of the other detainees to the walk-in freezer in the labs. They'd gone back for the four human corpses as well and Ianto had given Jack their names. Jack had kept a close eye on the dark haired man. Ianto was finding it harder to maintain a calm façade and his hands had been noticeably shaky. Jack hadn't said anything but had asked Owen to have a mild sedative ready to administer before they left for Cardiff. With any luck Ianto would sleep all the way there or at least spend the trip in a relaxed drowsy state.

It was also becoming obvious that Ianto's ribs were hurting. He moved slower and more carefully. His right wing was hanging lower and he sometimes stopped for a slow breath before moving forward again. Jack looked around the neatly organized Archive. There was a Bekaran deep tissue scanner in Cardiff but he couldn't see one here. Jack intended to scan Ianto for internal damage as soon as they got to the Hub. He mentally kicked himself for making Owen leave it behind. His rule to keep all alien technology in the Hub and not allow it to be removed without his permission had come back to bite him. He'd have to revise that rule when all this over. He sighed. Yet another item for his ever-growing to-do list.

"We kept flattened boxes in a room on Sub Three," Ianto suddenly spoke and Jack looked at him. Ianto was surveying the room with narrowed eyes. "You can use them to pack all of this stuff into. And if you could write the shelf number on the box lid then it will make it easier to sort them out in Cardiff."

"We really need an inventory list."

"There's one in my office but it only gets printed out monthly. It's a rather hefty document and most people use the computer database as it's always current."

"Once the power's back we'll transfer what we can from here to the Hub." Jack had already alerted Tosh and as soon as the computers went online she would be waiting. Tosh was beyond gifted when it came to computers and it wouldn't take her long to shift all of Torchwood One's systems onto Three's mainframe. "I do need to know where the lockdowns for these levels are. While I'm taking you to Cardiff I don't want anyone else in here."

"Each floor has a board that can lockdown either just one floor or all of them." Ianto led the way to a junction box near the lifts and opened it up. Jack studied it carefully by the light of his torch.

"Looks easy enough but I'll need to check the actual door on Sub One. See what damage the cybermen did to it because it's no good setting the lockdown if that door isn't able to stay closed." He looked at his watch. "Suzie should be here in another half an hour so if there's anything else you want to take now the time to get it."

"No," Ianto said with a shake of his head. "This is all I need. Unless you think I should get my medical files for Doctor Harper?"

"Good idea. That should keep the sarcastic sod happy." Jack grinned and Ianto realised he was shaking his head again. He didn't think he'd ever figure out the dynamics between the doctor and the Captain. But Ianto was amused as he watched the Captain react to his medical records.

"_All of this is yours_?"

"Yep." Ianto patted the four drawer filing cabinet with a smile. The word 'Jones' was engraved into the front of the top drawer and post-it notes were scattered across the cool metal.

"All of it?" Jack repeated as he opened the drawers and found them filled with coloured files and plastic tabs.

"Two years worth. Every test and result, every scan, all there."

"We'll need a trolley to move it." Jack began planning. "Might be able to slide it into the back of the SUV."

"It would be easier to remove the files and place them in boxes rather than take the cabinet as well," Ianto pointed out. "And it is all in the database anyway."

"We'll still take it but not today. Owen will have to wait. We'll pack it up with the rest of the archives." Jack looked at the post-its and one caught his eye.

"Who's Lisa?"

"My doctor." Ianto's wings rustled as he turned away from the cabinet and its notes.

"_Dinner at eight, my place_." Jack read the note and Ianto paused.

"She sometimes brings pizza in. She usually invites me to share it in her office."

"That's nice of her," Jack remarked sincerely.

Ianto nodded. "Yeah." His shoulders slumped for a moment and then he straightened up. "There's a book in my office I just remembered. I should take that too." He walked off without looking back. Jack watched him leave and then read the rest of the notes.

All from people who were more than likely dead. Either deleted or converted. Jack wondered if there was anyone left that Ianto might know and then realised that Ianto would have to be listed as one of the dead.

"_My canary_?" Jack read one of the notes absently as he wondered how Ianto would react to be officially dead.

"Lisa's nickname for me." Ianto startled him by replying. Jack hadn't heard him return. "'The canary of Canary Wharf' they used to call me when I first came here. It got shortened since then." And had fallen out of use after the novelty had worn off. Only Lisa called him 'canary' now.

"You're not a canary," was all Jack could say.

"I know," Ianto said with a shrug. "But they needed to have a label for me back then. It made them feel better." Ianto looked at him with tired but clear eyes. "It could have been worse."

"Like 'birdman'," Jack muttered and Ianto shrugged again. It might be slightly hypocritical to feel offended by Owen Harper's casual name-calling and not by Lisa and the others of One, but he knew..._had_ known them.

"Your Doctor Harper is a prat."

"True," Jack agreed. "He's a harmless one though."

Ianto rolled his eyes and Jack's laugh was cut short as Owen spoke through his com and informed him that Suzie had arrived.

* * *

..

* * *

Notes:

Oral tradition has Henry II saying "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" which led several of his knights to assassinate Thomas Beckett in 1170.

The trapezius muscle is the large muscle that extends down from the skull to the lower vertebrae and laterally to the spine of the scapula.

Infra-spinatus muscles connect from the scapula (shoulder blade) to the humerus and form part of the rotator cuff that stabilizes the shoulder.

The infraspinatous fossa is the lower part of the shoulder bone where the infra-spinatus muscles attach.

The latissimus dorsi is the larger, flat, lateral muscle on the trunk from just under the trapezius covering all lumbar and sacral vertebrae and twisting upwards to the sub scapular area.

The vertebral border (or "medial border") is the longest edge of the scapular.

Pectoral muscles in birds run from the keel of its breastbone to the humerus and are the largest muscles a bird has. They provide the powerful downstroke in flight.

Supracoracoideus muscles lie below the pectoral muscle from the keel and are connected to the coracoid (shoulder bone) and are the muscles that raise the wing.

_Anatomical and avian information garnered from Gray's Anatomy and several assorted biology books._

_.  
_

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone for the wonderful response to this fic, it was quite unexpected and much appreciated...this is the second part of three and I will put the third part up - which is already written and will probably be tweaked to death - next week...

silken :)


	3. After The Battle part 3

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title:** After The Battle of Canary Wharf  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating: **PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes: **A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1and probably beyond

**Summary: **Torchwood One held many secrets and after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness discovers one of them - Ianto Jones.

* * *

**After The Battle – Part 3**

Ianto Jones decided he liked Suzie Costello more than Owen Harper. The tall slender woman had smiled, given him a firm a handshake, said "wings huh" and then gone into a huddle with the Captain and Doctor Harper. Now he could hear her talking about organizing transport for the sub-level archives. However despite the calm and decisive manner Suzie had, after hearing the Captain and Owen talking about the Torchwood Three's archives Ianto felt nothing but foreboding about his new job. His new life.

He wrapped his arms around himself as he felt the shakes begin in his hands and in his thoughts. The wall of the sub level lobby kept him upright as he leant against it. He stayed close to the door leading back into the sublevels while the others were gathered in the middle of the room.

He wished he knew more about Torchwood Three. It was considered to be the black sheep of the Torchwood family. It was small and situated in Cardiff because of the rift there. Apart from Captain Harkness he'd never heard of the others. Any contact with Three was always done through the Captain.

Ianto knew there had to be records in the Archives. Torchwood kept files and records on everything. But you had to know where to look and Ianto knew where to look. There were many little caches of hidden information and technology scattered in the archive shelves and databases. Ianto had found many of them. Most he had come across accidently and others he had actively looked for but he'd never had the interest or need to search for Torchwood Three before. He wanted to slip down to the archives now and look. He let his breath out slowly.

He was never going to walk through that door again. Never going back to the sub levels. Never going back to his home. As soon as the Captain was ready he was going to take Ianto to Cardiff and Ianto doubted he'd ever see Londonagain let alone Torchwood Tower. It'd been nearly five years since he'd left Newport and Wales and found a new home in London. Even though he'd spent the last two years confined, he'd still been in London. Still in a place he considered home. He'd left homes before but never had it felt as final as this did. Usually leaving home meant there was always a chance you could return. Not this time.

"Ready to go, birdman?" Owen Harper was suddenly right in front of him and Ianto reared back slightly in surprise. He'd been too deep in thought and missed their small conference coming to an end.

"Yes," Ianto replied, keeping his anxiety hidden. He distracted himself by wondering when the doctor was going to get bored with calling him 'birdman'. Ianto had the feeling that the more he objected to it, the more insistent Harper would be. _And let's not forget I'm going to be working with the annoying sod_ Ianto thought with a mental sigh as he straightened up slowly. His ribs hurt. Doctor Harper had not been wrong when he'd said that Ianto's wings were making his injuries worse. The muscles across his back were aching and it was getting harder to keep his right wing close to its normal position. He could feel it dragging him off-balance and he felt lopsided.

"Take these," Owen Harper ordered, his hand held out with a couple of pills on his palm. "Painkillers, slightly stronger than the ones you had earlier."

"Aren't you supposed to wait four hours before taking more?" Ianto asked feeling annoyed with himself that his pain was obvious.

"Its close enough and you look like you need it." Owen waited until Ianto had taken the two tablets and then held up another two in a small box. "These are sedatives and you will take them once you're in the Hub."

"I don't need sedatives," Ianto protested with a small grimace. Sleep was the last thing he wanted to contemplate. He didn't think he'd want to sleep for some time yet. Owen Harper was looking at him with an entirely too knowing expression on his face.

"That's your opinion. You're not the doctor here, I am. Therefore my opinion beats your opinion." Owen held his hand up to stop Ianto from possibly protesting further. "Today has not been a good day," he said with massive understatement. "And you look like the stubborn kind of patient that would drive most doctors to drink. Well, I'm already there and because I _am_ your doctor now, you're going to do exactly as I say. This is a very mild sedative, it will make you drowsy and hopefully relaxed enough to sleep. Eight hours after you've taken it, or when you wake up – whichever comes first - you're going to ring me. Is that clear?"

"I don't recall asking you to be my doctor." Ianto frowned as he began to work his way through what Doctor Harper _wasn't_ saying. It was too early for Ianto to be displaying any definite signs of post traumatic stress disorder, he'd have to go through the shock first. And while Ianto had seen and understood the battle around him, while he had tried and failed to help the others, he hadn't begun to think much beyond berating himself for not being able to help more. Captain Harkness's appearance had distracted him before there'd been a chance for the shock to really begin and he'd been given something else to think about, something to plan for although he hadn't actually made any of the plans. As he looked at the doctor he realised that sometime soon he was going to _feel _everything he'd lost today. And Owen Harper, Doctor of Medicine and non-existent bedside manner, had already realised that. Ianto took as deep a breath as his ribs would allow him. At least Harper wasn't acting as if he expected Ianto to have his breakdown right now.

"I didn't ask for you as my patient," Owen replied with a shrug.

"What if I wanted a different doctor?"

"There isn't one. Welcome to Torchwood Three, birdman." Doctor Owen Harper smirked and Ianto wondered if he wouldn't be better off with UNIT after all.

"You boys ready?" Captain Harkness interrupted before either of them could say anything else. "We need to sneak out through one of the loading bays."

"Would have been easier if we just backed the SUV in," Owen grumbled.

"And UNIT would have come straight down to see what we were trying to steal," Jack replied. "As it is I'm going to need you to help Suzie keep UNIT distracted while Ianto and I leave. Make noises on the other side of the building or something."

"Like waving shiny tech in their faces?" Owen offered and Jack grinned at him.

"That'll do it. But nothing too shiny. We'll never get it back otherwise." Jack turned to Ianto and studied the pale young man. The shadows under his eyes were deepening and there were lines on his face from obvious tiredness. "I'll carry your stuff and we'll walk out like two normal people…" Jack ignored the scoffing noises Owen made and worked on reassuring Ianto. "… minding their own business. As long as we don't draw any attention to ourselves we'll be fine."

Ianto didn't feel very reassured. He could think of several things that would make staying unnoticed rather difficult. And that was in spite of the fact that Ianto was the one with the wings. Because Captain Jack Harkness did not strike him as man who could easily avoid attention. If anything Ianto would have thought the Captain would actively seek out any and all attention.

"You'll wear my coat."

Ianto blinked at the words and before he could move Jack had removed his coat and moving in close. Ianto was suddenly trapped as the Captain stood in front of him, reaching around and trying to put the coat on Ianto's shoulders. Ianto had to dip his wings before it could sit on his shoulders. He slipped his arms into the sleeves and the Captain pulled it closed in front of him. Ianto twitched as he was buttoned into the coat. He wasn't used to having his wings covered and it felt uncomfortable and confining. He stepped back as soon as the last button was closed.

The coat was warm and heavy and Ianto was surrounded by the smell of the Captain's cologne. Ianto kept shifting his shoulders despite his aching ribs and back and he pulled at the coat to make it settle over his wings. He was almost positive that some of his feathers were out of alignment and it was strange to hold his wings so low on his back. He was used to seeing them out of the corners of his eyes, always there and visible above his shoulders.

Jack watched the Welshman fidgeting. Even though he was of a height with Jack, Ianto was thinner and the coat had been made for a wider, stockier build. The coat hung a bit longer at the front, and from the front Ianto was suddenly no more remarkable than anyone else. When Jack moved around and looked at the young man's back he could see his coat stretched and uneven. The sharp line of a wing joint was visible, pushing the heavy material out to the side and Jack could see it moving as Ianto kept on fidgeting.

"It's only until we get to the car," Jack assured him as he pulled at the coat, lifting it outwards to give Ianto some extra room to settle his wings. Jack missed the quick disbelieving look Ianto gave him as he brushed a hand down the length of a wingtip before lowering the coat over them. "They fit quite nicely under there and as long as no-one sees your back, they won't know they're there." Jack's frown was thoughtful as he studied the adjusted fall of his coat over Ianto's wings. "It looks like you have a large flattened hump down your back."

Ianto blinked. Very few people had treated his wings this casually but both the doctor and the Captain had neither avoided them nor been hesitant to mention them if necessary. Ianto was suddenly very curious as to what Torchwood Three got up to if they could so easily accept his wings. It was very different at One. Even after two years there were still some people who couldn't meet his eyes, although Ianto knew that there were other reasons why that might be so.

"I'll carry the box. Are you ready?" Jack had already picked the box up

"Yeah," Ianto replied, his anxiety less hidden this time and Owen Harper tapped him on his shoulder.

"If you like I can give you the sedatives now. You'll probably demand them once Jack starts driving anyway."

"Hey!" Jack protested as he began to walk across the room. "_I'm _not the one who's dented the SUV four times this month," he shot back over his shoulder to Owen.

"No, you're up to six," Suzie said as she began to follow him. Owen grinned and nudged Ianto in a friendly manner.

"But never let Suzie drive because she only dents it once. When she _totals_ it."

"I did that once!" Suzie replied easily without heat.

"Yeah and you have to admit that she didn't get a scratch on it the second time." The Captain disappeared through the door as he spoke.

"Only because it landed _in_ the Bay," Owen retorted. Ianto almost smiled at their banter. It was obviously a familiar discussion between them and it carried him past the centre of the room and to the door that opened into the basement level.

Ianto had taken the first step into the large area before he realised it. He slammed backwards against the wall breathing hard and eyes wide, ignoring the increased pain in his ribs as he stared wildly around him. Scorched walls and shattered machinery he almost ignored as his eyes focused on the bodies lying no more than thirty feet away.

"Shit!" Ianto didn't hear the Captain's curse as he thrust the box at Owen and moved to block Ianto's vision. Ianto tried to look behind the Captain but Jack shifted to keep the bodies from his sight. There was a terrible blank emptiness to the Welshman's face.

"I… they're… I have… They can't…" Ianto couldn't find the connection between the turmoil of his mind and his mouth. Coherency was lost as he struggled to think. Words and thoughts jumbled all over themselves and he found himself staring at the buttons of the Captain's blue shirt. Large hands warmed his biceps even through the thick coat and the heady scent of the Captain made him shiver.

"… breathe with me Ianto. That's it, nice and slow. Good."

He could feel the Captain's breath wafting at his face, could see shirt buttons moving slowly with each breath, could hear the encouraging voice and he would have slipped down the wall if not for the Captain's grip. The twisted confusion of his thoughts quieted slightly and he closed his eyes on a long breath out. He swallowed another breath before his eyes opened and he looked up to meet the Captain's concerned eyes. They were blue Ianto noticed vaguely, bluer than his own with no shades of grey. The lighting must be better in the basement than it was in the sub-levels Ianto thought, if he could see the colour of the Captain's eyes. His hands shot upwards and grabbed at the Captain's forearms.

"The basement? I'm in the basement? I'm not supposed…The others… They're still here… I saw them." The words spluttered out of him and he would have stepped away from the wall if the Captain hadn't kept him in place.

"Yes, you're in the basement. It's deactivated, remember? You're safe now, you can go wherever you want. You're not a prisoner…"

"Detainee. We are… were…they called us detainees," Ianto interrupted blankly as he latched onto words that made some sense. "Why are they still here?"

"Because the UNIT clean-up hasn't gotten this far yet," Jack told him bluntly.

"They're dead," Ianto said, equally bluntly as his jumbled mind found it easier to cope with the abrupt and honest words.

"Yes," Jack agreed. "We can't help them right now and we will make sure they're taken care of later, but it's more important to get you out of here. You're alive Ianto. You survived…"

"I couldn't help them." Ianto ignored most of what the Captain was saying as it made little sense. His mind was working its way through the mayhem and was doing so with the simple concepts first. Implication and connotation could wait until he had regained some internal balance.

"No, you couldn't. You tried, remember. You told me you tried."

"Yes, I tried but I couldn't leave, I couldn't help." Ianto parroted the words as the memories worked their way through the overlying shock. Recognition sparked and his head lifted slightly. "The daleks were waiting for them!"

"Yes, that's what you told me." Jack stayed patient as he watched Ianto slowly lose the blankness that had worried him. Ianto's eyes began to flicker and Jack could almost see him forcing the shock away as he straightened up. His hands lost their death grip and Ianto took several slow breaths.

"You're going to need their names," he said in an even tone. It was a thin veneer of calm and they both knew it.

"You can write a list up," Jack told him. "You can do that while I drive and I'll bring it back with me, or you can wait until we get to Cardiff." He didn't say the list would be unnecessary once the computers were restored and the personnel files could be accessed. Jack had the feeling that Ianto knew that too but if it would keep him distracted and not going into hysterics then Jack was prepared to humour him.

"They're not… not going to be left here?"

"No." Jack turned slightly, still blocking Ianto's view of the bodies, and gently eased the younger man from the wall. "I don't know where they will go yet, but they won't be left here." _Some of them might even get a proper funeral_ Jack thought but didn't say. It wouldn't be his concern. He fully intended to let UNIT deal with the bodies once he was sure any remaining cyber-tech was destroyed and he had removed any and all of the tech One had scavenged and stolen over the years. "Don't worry; they'll be taken care of."

Ianto made a small noise in his throat and Jack wasn't sure if Ianto believed him or not but he wasn't about to elaborate. With small steps he managed to get Ianto further away from the wall and deeper into the basement. Ianto's grip was so loose on his forearms that Jack twisted his arm gently and Ianto's hands fell away. Jack grasped one of his hands and held it carefully as he moved to walk at his side, guiding him towards the large doors that led to the outside.

Owen walked behind them carrying the box of Ianto's belongings. He was tempted to administer the sedative now. The birdman was going to need looking after and he wasn't going to get it for a few days. Jack would dump him in Cardiff and come back to London. Tosh and Suzie, when she returned, weren't trained to deal with this sort of stress. Maybe Owen should get Tosh to keep him sedated until Owen himself could get back to Cardiff and take care of him properly. Owen grimaced. He knew he wasn't the counseling type but he doubted Jack was going to let anyone else handle it. Jack was usually extremely reluctant to let anyone into the Hub. It was surprising enough that he was letting the birdman stay, but even Jack wouldn't leave anyone to UNIT's tender mercies and Owen knew that. He sighed. He'd have to dig out all his old psychology texts and maybe even open up the medical journals he still received but never read. God, he hated living patients. Such hard work but as he watched Jack's manner with the young Welshman he began to smile.

Jack could do the counseling. All Owen had to do was persuade him to take it on.

* * *

Ianto came to a dead stop and his hand gripped at the Captain's the moment they left the basement. Jack and Owen immediately looked at him with concern but they weren't prepared for the almost awe on the young mans face. Eyes wide not from shock stared at the empty street and then upwards to the buildings around them and further up to the twilight sky.

"My god…" Ianto's voice was a whisper. "I'm _outside_." He felt the wind against his skin. He shivered at its touch. He could smell the dying heat of the day in the air along with the nearby river and acrid smoke. He turned to look at Torchwood Tower. Windows were shattered and sooty marks stained some of the broken frames. Black streaks ran down from some windows but it appeared remarkably undamaged to him. He had expected there to be more destruction. Some outward sign that spoke of how terrible it had been on the inside. Ianto felt surprisingly empty as he stared at the building that he had expected to spend the rest of his life in.

"There's more damage on the other side," the Captain said not sure what the Welshman was thinking as the young man stared at the Tower for a moment longer before looking up at the sky.

"Kinda surprising the building's still standing," Owen commented.

"Not really," Jack shrugged. "The daleks and cybermen don't waste anything that's potentially useful and the tower would have been very useful. A base with all the tech they could utilize. The cybermen had already managed to position themselves worldwide from whatever Hartman was playing at here."

"The Sphere," Ianto mumbled. He kept taking long deep breaths and continually looked upwards. Clouds moved between the buildings across the deepening purple sky and he watched them closely.

"What sphere?" Jack asked with a frown.

"It came through the Void and the ghosts came with it. They set up a room on Sub One for it and they were trying to open it," Ianto spoke in a distant voice. "The daleks came out of it."

"Is it still here?" Jack spoke louder.

"No. They said it disappeared once the daleks appeared." Ianto blinked, his voice no longer distant but keeping his gaze firmly on the clouds. "Andrew said there was a confrontation with the cybermen and then they went upstairs."

"And you followed?" The question was asked as if the answer didn't matter but Jack waited longer than he expected to for a response.

"Not then." _But later_ was silently added and both Jack and Owen heard it. Owen doubted they'd ever hear everything the young birdman had seen and done during the attack. Some things you just never found the words for. Nor did you want to.

"Time enough later to hear the rest," Owen said, purposely breaking the mood. "Time to get birdman on his way to Cardiff."

"Yes," Jack replied. "You okay, Ianto?" The young man was still gripping his hand tightly and seemed unaware of it.

"Yeah." Ianto looked away from the sky accepting the change of mood and wanting to change the topic. He studied the streetscape noticing several parked cars and hearing the distant sound of the city. "It's warm out here."

"It's been warmer than average this month," Jack said.

"You following London's weather now?" Owen queried as he spotted the SUV and began walking towards it. Jack followed him keeping Ianto at his side.

"No, I heard it on the radio while we were driving up here."

Ianto looked at the black SUV they were approaching with interest. The dents were noticeable as was its need for a wash. He could just make out the word Torchwood in raised letters along the side and a glow barely visible through the tinted windows.

"That's an SUV?" he asked as he got closer. "It's a Range Rover."

"It's been modified and Captain America here can spell SUV easier than Range Rover," Owen said. A loud beep was heard and Ianto heard the car's locks flick back. A line of blue lights flickered along the side as Owen opened the back door.

"What's with the lights?"

Owen turned after pushing Ianto's box into the back and closing the door. "It makes it look cool," he answered with a smug grin. "My idea."

"Not the best idea you've ever had, Owen," Jack said as he opened the passenger door and Ianto finally let go of his hand as he inched close to look inside the vehicle. "Problem Ianto?"

"I… I don't know if I'm going to be able to sit there." Ianto sounded embarrassed and Jack looked blank for a moment before he realised what the problem was.

"How have you managed before?" he asked and then shook his head. "Sorry, I forgot. You haven't done this since the… since, have you?"

"No." Ianto looked upwards briefly before looking back at the SUV. "I … I haven't been ... I haven't done a lot of things since the wings."

Owen walked over and sighed loudly at them with a smart grin. "Take off the coat and try the front seat, birdman. If you don't fit then you can sprawl over the back seat instead."

"Smartass," Jack said good-naturedly and Owen's grin widened. "Let's try it Ianto. He'll be even worse if we don't." Jack began to unbutton the coat and Ianto let him. "Of course if Ianto can sit in the front, he'll get shotgun rights for a month," Jack told Owen with his own wide grin.

Ianto felt his precarious mental stability threatening to shift again. To hear the Captain speak as if Ianto would be able to go driving again, to be _outside_ again, was to hear something he'd given up expecting to ever happen again. He had learned to accept that many things were no longer possible. Things that most people took for granted that he could no longer do or had to change completely. Sitting down, laying down, showering, dressing. He'd had to learn new routines to be able to cope with the change to his body. The sudden brushing of the wind against his feathers made him jump. The Captain had managed to remove the coat while he'd been distracted.

Automatically Ianto lifted his wings back up to their normal position ignoring the pull of aching muscles. The right wing still hung lower and he knew he'd have to wait until his ribs healed before he'd stop feeling lopsided. He could feel individual feathers ruffling in the wind and his shoulders twitched with an urge to stretch his wings out wide to catch the wind. But he forced himself to take a deep breath and study the best way to get into the SUV. If possible he really wanted to sit in the front. He did not want to be relegated to the back.

He placed one foot on the door frame and reached upwards to the handle gripping it carefully as he turned sideways. Like with most backed chairs he wasn't going to be keep his wings behind him so he brought them forward curling them around his sides. The good thing about the SUV seat was that it had no arms so once his wings were drawn forward he sat on the edge of the seat. Using his free hand to lift his right wing he slid sideways on the seat and once he was completely seated he turned again to push the wing carefully between the two front seats, angling it to the back. It was more difficult to settle the other wing. He couldn't push it behind the chair, there was no room and the seatbelt was in the way. In the end he left the wing curved to his front and had to have the seatbelt strap pulled close to his throat before it could go down to lock into the buckle.

It took him nearly five minutes and felt uncomfortable but he was able to give a quietly triumphant little smirk that made the doctor curse and the Captain laugh.

* * *

Jack drove just over the speed limit along the M4 towards Cardiff. His passenger was silent, head turned to the left staring out the opened window at the scenery barely visible in the night. The radio played a constant stream of soft classical music barely audible above the wind rushing past. Most stations were covering the events at Canary Wharf and making so many incorrect assumptions and wild guesses that Jack had switched to the first non-news dominated station he could find.

Ianto hadn't spoken much once they'd left Canary Wharf. He'd stared at the city as Jack had worked his way through London to the A4. He'd taken several unnecessary turns just to give the wide-eyed young man the chance to see more than he would have if they'd driven straight. Jack had followed several tourist routes and Ianto had stayed silent and staring. Ianto had reclined the seat once they'd left London and Jack had noticed that he'd moved to be able to look out the window to the sky. Jack wasn't surprised but he wondered how Ianto would cope to going back underground once they reached the Hub. He'd have to make sure Ianto got plenty of opportunities to go outside.

"You okay, Ianto? Comfortable?"

"Yeah." There was the rustling of wings that Jack was beginning to expect to hear every time he spoke to the Welshman. "Reclining the seat made it easier."

"And my coat as well?" Jack smiled. Ianto had used the coat to cover himself as they'd driven through London and then as a blanket after he'd settled back to watch the sky.

"I love the coat," Ianto said with a smile in his voice. "It's very useful, but it needs cleaning. There's egg on the collar and your cologne is all through it."

"It's been a busy week and I don't use cologne."

"Your after shave then. It's potent."

"I never wear any," Jack replied.

"You smell like that naturally?" Ianto asked with surprise.

"Fifty-first century pheromones. You people have no idea." Jack laughed slightly as he overtook a truck. Ianto was about to turn his head to question the Captain's statement when he caught sight of the advertising on the side of the truck.

"Wha… A new James Bond?" He sat up and twisted as much as he could peering back at the truck.

"You like James Bond?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Had all the books when I was growing up."

"We'll have to see if we can't get you in to see it then."

Ianto didn't quite believe him but was not going to say anything. "I think it said _Casino Royale_ but I couldn't make out the name of the actor. Didn't look like Brosnan."

"Oh no, it's a whole new Bond I hear. Daniel someone. He's blond, looks hot too."

"A blond Bond? No!"

"You have something against blonds?" Jack asked around a laugh at Ianto's reaction.

"No, but not for James Bond. That just seems so wrong."

"You sound like a purist Mr Jones."

"I just like the original," Ianto said as he settled back into his seat, pulling the coat up and looking out the window again. "Where are we?"

"Just gone past Swindon. You should try and sleep a bit."

"Doctor Harper has already organized my sleep for tonight."

"Make sure you take that sedative. Tosh will look after you."

"Who's Tosh?" Ianto asked cautiously. He'd heard the name several times now and he was curious.

"Someone you don't want to get on the bad side of," Jack said fondly.

"Really?" Ianto felt nervous.

"Oh yeah. Owen always claims that she controls the internet and I think he's about right on that one. Tosh is a very smart lady, a bit shy but you'll probably get on well with her."

Ianto stared at the sky. It sounded as if this Tosh was good with computers and he wondered if he should ask further but doubted he'd get answers that were more informative. He let his breath out and slipped further under the coat. The scent of the Captain tickled at his nose and he thought briefly of the pheromone comment. Another question that would probably have an even more confusing answer if he tried to ask it. This was turning out to be more challenging than he'd expected and he wasn't sure if he liked that.

* * *

Ianto felt the SUV came to a stop and he blinked and sat up slowly. He'd been dozing since they'd crossed the Severn, the continual movement and near silence soothing him into an almost dreamlike state. He looked out the window. The sky had gone and there was concrete all around. A steel door was in one corner and two other cars were parked close by. The smell of diesel and oil made his nose wrinkle and he turned to look at the Captain. Harkness had his hands resting on the steering wheel and looking at him with a solemn expression on his face.

"Underground parking." Jack tilted his head towards the steel door. "Through there is the Hub. You ready?"

Ianto nodded abruptly, his dazed state clearing rapidly. He fisted his hands under the coat for a moment before pushing it down and reaching for his seat belt. The Captain had already left the SUV and opened the passenger door by the time Ianto had managed to extricate himself from under the coat. He handed the coat to the Captain who shrugged it on as Ianto slipped sideways from the vehicle. He straightened up stretching his wings out without thinking.

Jack stared at the broad sweep of the wings. Each wing must span near six foot Jack thought as his fingers itched to touch. They were a richer darker brown than he'd imagined in the dim light of the sub-levels, matching the colour of the young man's hair. The feather tips were a warm golden cream. They looked sleek and smooth, rustling as Ianto shook them with several twitches of his shoulders. Jack watched, fascinated as Ianto easily brought them forwards to enable him to straighten several feathers with his hands. He was careful and took extra time with the right wing. A final shake and Ianto settled them at his back and looked up to find the bemused and awed look on the Captain's face.

"They're absolutely gorgeous."

Ianto blushed, embarrassed and unsettled by the obvious delight and sincerity, and Jack smiled. Ianto looked away unable to hold the Captain's gaze. He couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't going to sound either silly or self-conscious. He looked up as the Captain opened the SUV and picked up the box with Ianto's clothes.

"Well, let's get you settled in." He walked to the steel door and typed in a code before the door gave several loud clicks and a grating noise echoed around them. The door slid open with a swirl of cool air and a corridor beckoned. Flourescent lighting ran along the walls.

"Welcome to Torchwood Three, Jones, Ianto Jones."

* * *

..

* * *

.

Most timelines place The Battle of Canary Wharf in July 2006.

Daniel Craig's Bond premiered in Casino Royale in November 2006 so I've probably made the advertising lead in time a bit longer than it was...

..

Author's Note: And that concludes the first part. The next part is tentatively called 'Cardiff' but I don't know if it will stay that.

Thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed "After The Battle". I've appreciated all the comments…

regards

silken :)


	4. Cardiff part 1

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title:** Cardiff

**Disclaimer**: I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes:** A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

**Summary:** Captain Jack Harkness found Ianto Jones in the aftermath of Canary Wharf and now he's brought the winged man to Cardiff and into the Hub of Torchwood Three. Follows on from After The Battle.

* * *

**Cardiff**** – Part 1**

"Archives are on the right, cells and lower levels are on the left and up this way is the centre of the Hub," Captain Jack Harkness said, pointing to various openings in the brick lined walls of an intersection as he led Ianto Jones through Torchwood Three. Ianto followed dutifully and tiredly behind. He was regretting his earlier dozing on the drive here as it was harder now to keep the exhaustion at bay.

The quiet and cool passages looked as if they had once been part of an underground railway line. Or maybe an old sewer he thought as he eyed the pipes that ran along the walls. There was a faint musty smell but it was not unpleasant and Ianto found himself trailing his fingers over the brickwork as he walked. So very different to the straight sterile concreted lines of One.

He stepped up the small slope and then stopped. Nothing at One had prepared him for the sight of the central Hub of Torchwood Three. It was a large open area and his head went back as he looked up and up to the ceiling so far above him. A ceiling of rough stone and rock that gave way to smooth brickwork and then to metal, gleaming everywhere from handrails to grated flooring. Water ran smoothly down a massive tower and wound its way along culverts in the floor under grated bridges. Computers beeped and there was a continual hum of machinery. Bundled lengths of cables ran alongside metal stairs up to the open levels. Ianto looked around with wide eyes. With glassed walls and open work areas it was the underground base of every little boy's dreams and Ianto had been no exception. Torchwood One had quickly broken any dreams and notions Ianto had had about secret agencies, but the sight of the Hub brought some of them back in a heady rush.

Jack grinned at Ianto's obvious awe and delight, and made his way over to the small couch set against one wall. He dropped the box onto the table in front of it. He was pleased with Ianto's reaction so far.

"He has wings."

Jack turned at the soft whisper and found Toshiko Sato at his side. She had left her desk and wandered over to join him near the couch but her eyes were fixed on Ianto.

"I didn't quite believe what Owen said but…they're lovely," she added.

"So is he," Jack whispered back and winked at her when she frowned at him.

"Behave," she reproved with a small shake of her head, but she smiled as she looked back at Ianto. "It's a bit early to flirt with him isn't it?"

"It's never too early to flirt," Jack informed her, grinning. "I've known him for _hours_ now." The Welshman was still standing and looking around him. Jack waved cheerily at him. "Ianto! Come and meet my Toshiko," he called.

Ianto started slightly and looked around for the Captain and saw a Japanese woman at his side. She must be the Tosh that he had heard very little about. He took a deep breath and began to walk into the main Hub area, his footsteps loud on the grating. He wasn't used to that and he found himself trying to tread lighter to minimize the sound. The Japanese woman was watching him, her eyes flicking from his face to the wings and back again. She was looking at him with an expression he was familiar with. Curious and trying hard not to stare. He saw her eyes flitting from his face to his wings and back again. Most people who saw him for the first time wore that expression. He kept his wings close to his back with the right one dragging lower than before, his aching muscles protesting.

"Toshiko Sato meet Ianto Jones," Jack said as Ianto got closer. "Ianto's going to be our Archivist." The woman smiled shyly at him and he smiled back trying to look as harmless as he was. He was surprised when she extended her hand to him without hesitating and he took it gratefully. "Tosh is our computer and tech genius," Jack continued as they shook hands briefly and Ianto saw her faint blush at the Captain's words.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ianto said politely.

"And you," Toshiko replied with equal politeness, keeping her grip light. She kept her eyes on his face resisting the urge to look at his wings. She had questions but didn't know how to say them in a way that didn't sound silly or offensive, and given what the young man had already been through today Tosh didn't think he'd appreciate having to cope her curiousity as well. Tosh knew how to be patient.

They lapsed into silence and Ianto disengaged his hand from hers gently. He wasn't quite sure what to say next. He wasn't used to taking the initiative in conversations. And he'd always had someone from One beside him who would ensure the conversation did not go anywhere it shouldn't whenever he met anyone new. Not that he'd been allowed to meet many people.

"Ianto will be living here," Jack said as the other two seemed unable to say anything else. He looked at Ianto. "I have to return to London so we can billet you in one of the bunks for now and then set you up properly when I get back." Ianto nodded his face expressionless. He hadn't expected to stay anywhere else.

"How long will you be, Jack?" Toshiko asked looking away from Ianto.

"I don't know. We can't really afford to be away for any more than a week and I don't intend to stay any longer than that." He smiled at her. "I'll send Suzie home as soon as I get back to London and if you need us, you know we'll drop everything to get back here."

"I know," Tosh smiled back at him.

"When Ianto wakes up you can show him around and maybe set him up with some basic accesses."

Ianto and Tosh both frowned at the Captain. "Wakes up?" Tosh queried with a quick look between the two men.

"Owen gave him a sedative to take," Jack told her before he gave the young man a pointed look. "Which he will take before I leave."

Ianto didn't know what to say. He was rather put out that the Captain had remembered the doctor's sedative and even more bemused by the implication that Ianto wouldn't take it if the Captain wasn't here. Which, Ianto was honest enough to admit, he wouldn't. Ianto wondered if the Captain was just guessing or if he had actually figured Ianto out.

"I'm not really tired…" Ianto began.

"No, you're exhausted," the Captain interrupted and Ianto stared at him. "It's pretty obvious Ianto." Ianto looked away and saw Toshiko nod in agreement before she realised Ianto had seen her and she blushed. A silent sigh and Ianto's shoulders dropped slightly his right wing slipping further. Denial was only going to last for so long and it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to keep on denying just how tired he was.

"It's been a long day," Ianto almost mumbled. He really didn't like admitting it and he was grateful that the Captain showed nothing but understanding in his face when Ianto risked a glance at the older man.

"I'll show you where you can sleep. I don't want to seem to be pushing you too fast here but I'd really like to get back to London as soon as I can, and Owen won't accept anything less than an eyewitness account of you taking that pill."

"Doctor Harper is a prat," Ianto grumbled.

"So you've said. Several times," the Captain laughed. He looked at the Welshman. He didn't know why the young man was so reluctant to admit to being tired. It seemed to go beyond worrying about the possible nightmares sleep could bring. "Come on, let's get you to bed." Jack leered gently at the Welshman and was pleased with the answering eye-roll and slight lessening of Ianto's stance.

"Do you always do that?" Ianto asked with a small shake of his head.

"Do what?" Jack questioned back with an attempt at innocence that was lost as soon as Toshiko spoke.

"Yes, he does."

Jack was quite taken with the smile that appeared on Ianto's face. It wasn't a big smile but the tired face lightened and he looked younger. Jack wondered just how old the Welshman was. Mid- twenties perhaps. Jack promised himself a quick look into that filing cabinet back in London.

"It could almost be called harassment," Ianto said in a slow soft voice, his accent more noticeable. It took Tosh a moment to see the twinkle in the young man's tired eyes and she smiled widely. A quick look at Jack had her turning away to smother a laugh as it took him a moment to realise the young Welshman was teasing him.

"Don't worry Ianto. There'll be no _almost_ about it when I do harass you," Jack smirked happily.

"Is that something I should look forward too, Sir?" Ianto replied without thinking and then blushed heavily as he realised what he'd said. He groaned when the Captain leant closer.

"Oh, you _most _certainly should look forward to it."

Tosh couldn't stop the laugh that broke as Ianto went even redder and Jack's leer verged on the downright dangerous.

"Leave the poor man alone Jack," Tosh ordered, still laughing as she moved to Ianto and carefully linked her arm into his. "I'll show him the bunks, you bring his stuff."

Ianto gratefully let her lead him back to the tunnels, his blush slowly fading. He could hear the Captain following them but didn't turn around. _I must be tired to have said that,_ Ianto thought as Toshiko took the left hand tunnel and several doors appeared. She opened the first one and Ianto peered into a room smaller than the room he'd had in One.

"They only get used for sleeping in," Toshiko said as she flicked on the light. A single bunk was against one wall and a small table was beside it. With her arm still linked with Ianto's she ushered him into the room and the small room became a lot smaller as the Captain edged in.

"It's temporary, Ianto. Just until I get back and we can find you a better bigger room," Jack said quietly and the Welshman nodded.

"I don't need much," Ianto replied as he turned to look at the Captain. "But …would it be possible to get a bigger bed in here?"

Jack's eyebrows lifted slightly and Ianto would have blushed again but he was staring at the box of his things the Captain was carrying.

"We could get the bunk from the next room and push them together," Tosh said thoughtfully.

"Thank you." Ianto looked at her. "It's just… I need the extra space for my wings." He sounded embarrassed and Tosh patted his hand before she let go of his arm.

"I see they'd hang over the edge wouldn't they?" she queried as she studied the bed and then his wings, keeping her voice and manner matter-of-fact.

"Yes." Ianto nodded glad of her tone.

"I'll get the bunk, Tosh, while you move the table," Jack said as he put the box down in a corner.

"I can help," Ianto began.

"I don't think your ribs would like that." Jack smiled slightly as he left the room and Ianto could do nothing but watch as Toshiko moved the small table away from the bed. A loud scraping noise had him looking to the door where the Captain appeared dragging a bunk behind him. In minutes it was placed next to the other one and the table pushed close again. The bedding was rearranged to cover the bunks as best as possible and Ianto noticed Toshiko frowning at the end result.

"It's not good enough," she said and Ianto shook his head.

"It's fine. It's bigger than I had before," he told her without a lie. His bed at One had been only just slightly wider than a single bed. Not big enough to be called a king single. The two bunks together gave him just over an extra foot of width and he appreciated that even as he noticed the thinner mattresses here.

"But…" Toshiko turned to him looking rather appalled and he hurried to reassure her.

"I mean it, its fine, really. And the Captain did say this was only temporary."

"You can help pick out proper furniture later, Tosh," Jack said and Tosh's frown deepened for a moment before it disappeared.

"Alright. If you're sure…?" she said looking at the Welshman.

"I'm sure," Ianto replied with a smile.

"How about you get some water for Ianto to take his tablets, Tosh, while I make sure we're set here," Jack encouraged and she nodded and left the room. Jack waited a moment as her footsteps faded. "Tosh can be a bit shy sometimes but she'll look after you and if she thinks something needs doing she'll do it. And if you need anything just ask her."

Ianto nodded. Toshiko Sato seemed like a nice person and he thought he could get to like her. He didn't really have much choice in the matter. He had nowhere else to go so it would be wise of him to learn to like Torchwood Three and its personnel. And two out of the four seemed to be sane and normal. That was a good start, wasn't it he thought to himself. He blinked as the Captain started speaking again.

"There are showers just around the corner if you want to clean up first."

Ianto drew his breath in at the thought of a long hot shower and the feeling of being completely clean. He didn't want to sleep in the clothes he'd been in for over eighteen hours. He let his breath out and looked cautiously at the Captain.

"I'd like that."

"Grab your towel and clothes and I'll show you where they are. You did pack a towel didn't you?"

"Yes." The notion of being able to stand under hot water and help ease his aching ribs had him moving to the box and carefully pulling out his towel before his usual sleepwear and toiletries as well.

Toshiko came back as they left the room and the glass was placed on the table to await Ianto's return. She smiled at him and went back to the main area leaving Jack to lead Ianto to the large communal shower room.

White tiles and cold steel greeted him. Showerheads jutted along one wall at regular intervals. Waist high walls separated each shower and there were three proper cubicles at the end. Several basins stood along the other wall. Each basin had a mirror and shelf and there was a bench in the middle of the room. Ianto thought for a moment he'd walked into his old school gym's changing rooms.

"It's not real modern but the water's hot and continual," Jack said, his voice echoing against the tiles. "I'll give you half an hour and then I'll come fetch you out if I have to." He grinned at the younger man.

"Thanks," Ianto replied, missing the grin as he placed his bundle on the bench. He would have liked longer but he knew the Captain wanted to get back to London. He straightened up and looked at the Captain. They stood in silence for a few minutes staring at each other. Ianto could almost see the Captain's unspoken innuendos flitting between them. "I think I can manage, Captain," Ianto said after a while and the Captain's grin almost blinded him.

"Your loss," Jack replied with his casual leer. "You can call me Jack you know, although I kind of liked the Sir you called me earlier," he added with a wink before leaving Ianto alone with the shower.

* * *

"Is he alright Jack?" Tosh asked as the tall man appeared in the central Hub.

"Yeah, I think so. I told him he had thirty minutes. I really have to get back to London. Owen or Suzie haven't called?"

"No." Tosh shook her head. "I'm sure they're doing fine."

"Oh, I know they are, but I just want to get it over and done with as soon as possible." Jack paced between the desks. "I want to make sure there's nothing left that can bring us this close to disaster ever again and then I'll make sure One is closed down completely. There'll be lots of new tech for you to play with."

"That seems a bit hypocritical, Jack. You take it away from them and then let me play with it." Toshiko smiled and Jack smiled back.

"I trust you and besides, I'm here and I know what can be safely played with and what can't."

"And… Ianto will be our Archivist? Even though he's from One?" Tosh asked dubiously.

"Did Owen tell you anything about him?"

"Not really. Only that he had wings and he was injured."

"For the last two years Ianto has been confined in the sub levels of the Tower. Because of those wings." Jack watched as Tosh's eyes went wide. "From what he's said they let him work in the archives but that's all. Everything he owns is in that box Tosh. He has nothing but some clothes and a filing cabinet filled with the results of what he called 'scientific curiousity'."

"You think they… experimented on him?" Tosh asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"That's… that's horrible!"

"That's why I didn't leave him there for UNIT," Jack said solemnly and she nodded in rapid agreement.

"Yes! He's much better off with us." She shivered. She knew better than most what UNIT was capable of. But still. She had to ask."Do you think they would have… done that too?"

"Yes. It's a human response when confronted with something different. Something that might just scare you a little bit because it's just not normal. People think that if you can take it apart and experiment and test it enough you'll be able to understand it, but it doesn't work that way. They just keep on testing and experimenting because they're never going to be satisfied and they'll always fear that difference."

"I'm glad you saved him."

Jack sighed. "I doubt it will feel like that to him for a while, Tosh. He doesn't think of himself as a prisoner. He called himself a detainee."

"It means the same thing," Tosh said with a frown.

"It does to us, but not to Ianto. It's a survival mechanism. It's allowed him to remain sane by downplaying the realities of his situation. He called it making the best of what he had."

"It will be better for him now." Tosh spoke fiercely and Jack smiled at her.

"It'll take time, Tosh. At the moment he probably feels as if he's exchanged one prison for another."

* * *

Ianto waited until the sound of the Captain's footsteps had faded completely away before he let his breath out. The longer he spent around the Captain the more confusing he found the man, and he rather thought that the Captain knew exactly how confusing he could be.

"Never going to figure him out. Not sure I should either," Ianto muttered as he moved to one of the showers, undoing the buttons on his shirt. He took a deep breath and lifted his wings up. He could feel his back muscles hurting, and reaching behind he grabbed his shirt at the hem and pulled. With a loud tearing noise the material parted under one of his wings. As quickly as he could he gripped at the other side of the shirt and pulled again. The shirt split under the other wing and he let his wings droop with relief. He pulled an arm out of one sleeve and then the other before reaching behind and tugging the shirt from his back. It slipped easily over his wings and he let it drop to the bench. His wings hung low and he kept them as loose as he could to get some relief for his back.

The Captain had only given him half an hour so Ianto took a deep breath and lifted his wings again and began to remove his t-shirt. Like the button up shirt there were two seams running up the back of his t-shirt. All his shirts were modified the same way. Splits cut up to just above the wing joints and then velcro to keep the splits closed from under his wings to the hem. They could only be seen when he lifted his wings.

It was harder to remove the t-shirt. Once the seams were parted he had to reach again to pull it over his head and his back protested painfully. He shook and dropped heavily on to the bench, holding the t-shirt clenched in his hands and waited for the shaking to ease.

Once he was calmer and he could stand up without his knees trembling, he toed off his shoes and undid his jeans, letting them drop to the floor once he'd pushed them from his hips. He toed them off as well and left them on the floor, not trusting his ribs enough to bend down and pick them up.

The water was hot and he sighed happily as he stood under it. He washed himself carefully and slowly before he leant against the wall and just let the water run over him. The heat of the water eased aching muscles and bruises alike and he wondered how long the hot water lasted here. The Captain had said it was continual. Ianto hoped that meant everlasting. At One he'd been allowed as much hot water as he'd wanted but the shower recess had been smaller. Here he didn't have to twist himself around to get his wings clean.

Ianto closed his eyes and put his face up into the water streaming from the showerhead. He felt the water sliding down his throat and chest and slipping over his shoulders to run down his back. The weight of water on his wings pulled them low and the tips reached the floor as he brought his head down and the water sluiced straight down his back. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to leave the steamy heat but unless he wanted the Captain to find him naked and wet he was going to have to get out of the shower.

Ianto sighed and reached out to turn the water off.

* * *

Ianto stood in the middle of the shower room and slowly toweled his hair dry. The relief from the hot water was fading and he could feel his muscles burning. The scrapes on his ribs were stinging and the bruises were part of the all-over ache he felt he was becoming. For the first time today he thought he might welcome sleep if only to get away from the aching.

He gave his wings a small experimental shake and muffled a groan at the twinges that shot through his back. Drops of water spattered behind him. A few beads of water clung to his feathers but they were dryer than his hair. The right wing tip was almost to the floor now, muscles too sore to keep it in place.

"You finished in here?"

Ianto stiffened and winced as his muscles twinged sharply. He pulled the towel from his hair and saw the Captain leaning against the door staring at him with an intense gleam in his eyes. Ianto frowned and looked down at his right side. He didn't think his bruises would have had such an impression on the older man.

"Yeah, guess so. Is there anywhere I can wash my clothes?" Ianto asked and gestured to the clothes he'd been wearing earlier.

"Yes, we have a washing machine in the next room. And a dryer as well. All the mod cons here."

"That's good," Ianto replied wishing the Captain would stop staring at his ribs - or the rest of his chest for that matter. He turned to pick up his bundled clothes and swore he could _feel_ the weight of the Captain's stare.

Jack watched as the young man turned away and had to bite his lips to halt the appreciative groan from escaping. Ianto Jones was wearing nothing but a pair of loose black pants and Jack hadn't seen anything so gorgeous in a long time. The lean lines of muscle covered by scrapes, bruises and chest hair to the pale expanse of his back not covered by those splendid wings had Jack swallowing hard. The urge to say something, _anything_, had him fisting his hands but the Welshman's exhaustion was too visible and Jack had always prided himself on his timing. But there was _one _thing he definitely wanted to know.

"You always wear that for bed?"

Ianto straightened up with his clothes in his arms and the towel hanging from one shoulder. He blinked at the Captain. He couldn't detect anything but curiousity in the question although the Captain still had that disconcerting focused look in his eyes.

"Uh, yes. Wings don't really go well with pyjamas."

"Wings go well with anything,_ especially_ those pants."

Ianto couldn't stop the blush that flared as the Captain suddenly grinned and leered at him. He clutched his clothes to his chest with the sudden burst of self-consciousness. He was too tired to find a sarcastic retort and he was left wallowing in his embarrassment. The Captain laughed gently and Ianto realised it wasn't a laugh meant to make him feel any more uncomfortable.

"Come on, Ianto. You need to be in bed now. You can slay me with a witty comeback next time." Ianto was not surprised at the thought of there being a next time, but he was taken aback when the Captain lifted the bundle of clothes from him. "Go to bed while I put these in the wash for you."

Ianto was halfway out the room before he realised what he was doing and he paused and looked back at the Captain. Blue eyes were watching him, the leer gone and a smile in its place. For some reason the smile was more unsettling than the leer had been and Ianto turned and almost fled the room.

* * *

Jack found the Welshman sitting on his bed the glass of water in one hand and the sedatives in the other. His shoulders were slumped and the bruises vivid.

"I'm a bit tired," Ianto murmured with great reluctance.

"I know," Jack replied softly. He moved into the room and sat down beside Ianto. "Things might not be any better when you wake up but they won't be any worse."

Ianto snorted half-heartedly. In his experience things could always get worse, he almost expected it, but he was too tired to argue the point and he took the pills with a quick, well practiced motion. A swallow of water and he handed the glass to the Captain.

"When you get back from London, tell me how this is better," he said drowsily, his accent thick. "I thought Harper said it was a mild sedative." Ianto felt himself slipping sideways.

"It was; the rest is all your exhaustion catching up with you." Jack moved as Ianto slid against him and helped the Welshman draw his legs up on to the bed. Ianto moved slowly, rolling onto his left side and Jack pulled a sheet up to the young man's waist as Ianto watched through increasingly blurry vision. Wings fluttered then settled behind him, spread out like a feathery blanket.

"…jus' tired … not 'xhausted…" Ianto mumbled as his eyes closed.

"And stubborn," Jack said with a smile as he surveyed the the Welshman. Suddenly Ianto looked very young as lines of tension and pain disappeared from his face as he slipped deeper into sleep . His smile disappeared as he caught sight of the de-activated restraining band. "It will be better," he whispered. "I promise."

* * *

"Jack!" Tosh called to him as he appeared back in the central Hub and he walked over to her desk.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he got close.

"I don't know." She pointed at her computer screen. "They've managed to get the power back up at Torchwood One and I've accessed the database there. I've set up walls to keep anyone else out."

"Anyone else being UNIT?" Jack queried lightly with a grin.

"Yes," she replied without hesitation. "And I've started to transfer the data to Mainframe." Jack heard the capitalization they always used when referring to the almost sentient computer of Torchwood Three.

"Sounds good. Let me know once its complete. I'm off to London now and I'll send Suzie back as soon as I get there. Ianto's asleep and should stay that way for at least eight hours, probably more. Ring me when he wakes."

"Uh, that's what I wanted to tell you. I had a quick look into the personnel files for One," Tosh said with the slightest pink tinge appearing on her cheeks.

"And…?"

"And Ianto Jones died two years ago."

"That would have been when he got his wings," Jack said after a pause with a thoughtful frown.

"Why would they do that? Wasn't that a bit extreme?" Tosh asked.

"Not really. It's what I'd been thinking of doing."

"What?!" Tosh exclaimed loudly.

"Well, it can't be known that he survived the Tower, Tosh. There's too few survivors, everyone will want to see them and fuss over them no matter how efficient the cover-up is. A man with wings would attract all the wrong sort of attention. I guess it makes it easier if he's already thought of as being dead. He won't show on any list they make for One."

"Does he know this?"

"Don't know but I'm guessing he does. He seems the sort that would want to know and if he knew he was dead to the outside world it would be easier for One to keep him confined and controlled." He paused for a moment. "Which reminds me, when he wakes up, get the laser saw out and cut off the band on his left arm."

"What sort of band?"

"It's a restraining band. I've deactivated it but it needs the saw to physically remove it."

"I'll do it," Tosh said firmly without asking further. She didn't need to. She had her own experiences with such things.

"Thank you," Jack said and gave her a brief hug. "Look after him for me while I'm gone."

"Of course." She smiled. "Don't be gone too long."

"No more than a week, promise."

Jack paused as he headed out of the Hub. "By the way Tosh. Does it say how old he is?"

Tosh glanced at the screen. "He turns twenty-three next month." She looked at Jack. "He's so young. I didn't think he was that young."

"He's tired, it makes him look older." _And he looks too young when he's sleeping_. Jack left the thought unspoken as he walked away with the image of the sleeping Welshman before his eyes.

* * *

…

* * *

Author's Note: This is the start of the second episode in this series… not sure how many parts it will be, probably at least three…

And a big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the first episode… it's much appreciated…

silken :)


	5. Cardiff part 2

Working Title: The Torchwood Canary

Episode Title: Cardiff

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
Rating: PG13  
Warnings: Language  
Pairing: Jack/Ianto  
Notes: A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

Summary: Just hours after discovering Ianto Jones in Torchwood One after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness brought him to Cardiff and into the Hub of Torchwood Three.

* * *

**Cardiff – Part 2**

Ianto Jones stared at the open doorway and wondered when they'd unlocked it. He usually woke before the timed locks noisily clicked signifying the start of a new day. His eyes followed the lines of Victorian brickwork he could see and idle thoughts swirled in his head. He'd never been able to see out the door from his bed before and the passage outside his room had never been anything but smooth featureless plastered concrete.

The light was dimmer than he remembered it to be and he couldn't hear anyone. He must have really overslept if he'd missed the morning shift coming in. They usually appeared chattering noisily and cheerfully, especially on a Monday when they had full weekends to share. Something he didn't quite envy them for – well, not as much as he used to. He had probably missed breakfast as well. Unless they'd saved him some or one of the guards wouldn't object to slipping upstairs to the canteen. But he didn't feel hungry although he rather thought a coffee wouldn't go astray.

He blinked slowly, shifted an inch and pain wrapped around his ribs and back with a vicious spiking that made him gasp. He tried to curl up but the agony gripped him and he forced himself back into stillness, breathing shallowly as he blinked furiously against sudden tears. His fingers dug into the sheets as yesterday's events tumbled through his mind and he had to swallow hard.

Two years ago he'd woken up to agonising pain and found his life completely changed. He'd never expected to face that again, but yesterday – was it yesterday? – Ianto didn't know how long he'd been asleep. But yesterday everything had changed again, and _again_ he was waking up in pain with his old life torn away. As he tried to breathe through the agony of his ribs he sincerely hoped that there would never be a third time.

He focused on making himself move and it took several tries to be able to move slowly and carefully enough to minimise the stabs of agony that held him frozen and struggling to breathe evenly. He supposed he should he be grateful he only had bruised muscles and not broken ribs, but every movement hurt and it took five minutes before he could sit up. He leant forward, bringing his knees up and rested his chin on them. His back pulled with a steady ache and his wings felt like a dead weight behind him. He turned his head to sight the door and tensed hard as his muscles burnt. He forced himself to relax as he bit at his lip and tried to breathe evenly and shallowly.

The open door suggested that he was free to move around as much as he wanted and the longer he sat there contemplating it, the more he realised he needed to go to the bathroom. Not only that but he could avail himself of those hot showers as well. It would ease the ever-present ache for a moment and that would be as much a relief as getting to the toilet was going to be. His eyelids fluttered as he took a deep breath that he immediately regretted and he straightened up. Pulling the sheet away he moved, swinging his legs around and inched his way to the edge of the bed.

Ianto was shaking by the time he made it to the doorway. Moving slowly and carefully didn't stop his back from seizing up and holding him in place until he could relax enough to breathe and move again. It hurt to walk and it hurt to stand still but he kept moving. His wings dragged on the ground behind him. He'd tried to lift them and the pain had nearly brought him to his knees.

Toilet, shower, find painkillers.

It was his mental mantra as he inched his way from his room to the communal shower room he'd been in yesterday. Every few feet he had to stop and lean against the wall until the cramping agony faded and freed him to move forward again.

Ianto Jones was stubborn and it needed every ounce of that stubbornness to make it to the showers. He almost collapsed from relief the moment he entered the tiled room but he kept going, dropping his change of clothes on the bench and heading straight to the nearest toilet.

He was almost embarrassed by the soft moan that escaped him as his bladder emptied. With his arm outstretched to the wall beside him, he lowered his head, eyes closed as the relief overshadowed the constant aching for a brief moment. It was a long minute before he straightened up carefully and reached to flush the toilet. Being unable to lift his wings up meant he had been unable to close the door and he backed out of the stall watching his feet, not wanting to inadvertently step on his wings. For a moment he wished for the larger stall he had always used at One.

Torchwood One had pandered to political correctness enough to have installed larger toilets for employees with disabilities, although they had never actually employed anyone with a politically correct disability. Disabilities at Torchwood One were usually caused by alien technology and most had been temporary. Those who became permanently disabled disappeared with no accessible records left behind. Ianto had often been told he had been very lucky to have survived and allowed to live. He hadn't told them otherwise and had made use of the facilities without comment. He had wished for larger shower recesses though.

Which Torchwood Three had and he turned to face the showers. He stopped as he caught sight of the figure in the doorway and his back cramped hard as he almost fell back against the stall door.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Toshiko Sato spoke softly from the doorway as she tried to keep her eyes focused on his face and not on the bruised mass of his side. She hadn't realised how badly he was injured. The vivid bruising covering his right side worked its way around to his back disappearing under those drooping wings. Grazes and scratches were swollen lines amidst the deep purpling of his skin.

"It's ok," Ianto managed to say as politely as he could as he breathed through the pain and slowly straightened up again. He hoped she hadn't been standing there too long and he began to feel rather self-conscious as her gaze kept dropping to his chest and ribs.

"Why didn't Owen strap you up?" she blurted suddenly and then realised how disapproving she sounded and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't…"

"It's rather difficult to strap me up anymore," he interrupted her apology with a small smile. "And it's just bruised ribs. There's not much any doctor can do for that." Ianto nearly shrugged but caught himself in time.

"I can get you some painkillers," she offered, forcing herself to look away from his ribs and focus on his pale face. She noticed the lump on his forehead that was half hidden by his hair. With his wings drooping so low and the dark shadows under his eyes it was obvious how hurt he was.

"Thank you. That would be … much appreciated," he replied and was at a loss to know what else to say. Now he was over his initial surprise at seeing her, he wondered how he could politely ask her to leave so he could shower.

"And maybe some food as well," Toshiko added and he nodded. He didn't really feel that hungry right now but knew that would probably change once he was actually facing some food.

"Yes." He paused. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's just after four. In the afternoon," she clarified knowing how easy it was to lose track of time when you were underground.

Ianto blinked. He'd slept for over twelve hours. He frowned slightly. Either that sedative had been stronger than the doctor had claimed or he had been more tired than he had thought.

"You… you're not allergic to anything? Food I mean," Toshiko asked and Ianto shook his head.

"No, anything is fine." He smiled at her, a small smile of reassurance and she found herself nodding.

"I'll go order us something. Should be in about an hour so you can shower and I'll have the painkillers ready for you as well." Toshiko closed her mouth as she heard herself start to ramble. Talking to him had been much easier last night when Jack had been there and when he'd been fully dressed.

"Thank you Miss Sato," Ianto repeated.

"Tosh, call me Tosh."

"Tosh. Thank you." Ianto's smile was a bit wider and it made him look younger. He looked to the showers and then back at her.

"I'll be in the Hub, you remember the way to the main area, don't you?" Tosh asked, straightening up slightly.

"Yes, I remember it," he replied.

"Good. I'll see you there," she said and turned quickly to hurry away.

Ianto listened to her fading footsteps and gave a wry smile. She seemed like a nice woman although not as comfortable with him as she had last night. There was no doubting the genuine compassion beneath the stilted politeness though and he was glad that he hadn't been able to detect any pity mixed with it.

But Ianto was under few illusions. He was a stranger and he was _different_. The Captain had been different to anyone Ianto had ever met before, but the Captain was still Torchwood. The other three, they were Torchwood too. No matter how different they appeared to the people of One, it all came down to one fact. They were Torchwood. Regardless of how unlike London Cardiff was supposed to be, it was all still Torchwood.

And he knew that if he hadn't had wings the Captain never would have offered him a place here. Because that was just how Torchwood was.

* * *

"So, how is he?"

Toshiko Sato looked over at Suzie Costello as she entered the main Hub and headed to her desk.

"He's all bruises and very polite," she replied as she sat down and then shook her head with a small grimace. "A _lot_ of bruises," she added for emphasis.

"Jack did say he'd had a run-in with the cybermen. He's lucky to have gotten away with just bruises," Suzie noted.

"I know. But its one thing to know that and another to see the damage. The bruises go all the way around his back," Tosh pointed out and a small teasing grin appeared on Suzie's face.

"And is he nicely buffed under the bruising?" she asked lightly. "It was hard to see clearly on the CCTV." The two women had caught sight of the young Welshman on the internal CCTV feeds and had watched him make his way to the shower room. They had winced in sympathy at every slow and painful step even as they had tried to see the extent of his injuries that the grainy pictures had not fully shown.

"Probably," Tosh said before she looked away and then back again. She let her breath out. "I didn't look that closely actually. It was hard to see past the bruises."

"And the wings," Suzie remarked.

"And the wings," Tosh nodded in agreement. It was the wings that fascinated her mainly because of the _Tengu_. Tosh had grown up hearing and loving the many legends and stories about the _Tengu_ and it was them she'd thought of when she'd first seen him last night. The _Tengu _were demons who had taken on the appearance of winged men with large beaked noses and clawed feet. There was nothing demonic about the young Welshman and his nose was cute rather than largely beaked, and she hadn't looked at his feet, but those wings. She itched to touch them, just once.

"I wonder how he got them. Jack just said alien tech." Suzie smiled as Tosh gave a small snort and carried on. "I know; it's _always _alien tech but it must've been something incredibly complex to give a man wings. Tech like that would be fascinating to study."

"Jack said there were medical records but I can't find them in One's database," Tosh said with a puzzled frown. "Ianto's computer records all end two years ago."

"Anything about the actual incident?" Suzie queried.

"No," Tosh replied. "There's no cross reference in his file and I can't find a record of _any_ incidents about the time he's supposed to have died. His cause of death is listed as being a car accident. The death certificate is where it all stops. But Jack said there were hard copies in London so they must have had them in the database too."

"They're hidden somewhere then."

"I know, but I can't find them. There are four other people listed as deceased on the same day and their files are the same. Death by car accident and nothing further. It's highly unlikely that four people all had car accidents on the same day so it was obviously a major incident but it's been completely covered up and all the files hidden. They shouldn't be able to hide that from me."

Suzie smiled slightly at the almost pout that graced Tosh's face and nodded in agreement. Toshiko was the best, sometimes it felt as if she was beyond genius, when it came to computers. Brilliant with tech and even more so with computer systems, she hadn't come across a program she couldn't hack. Torchwood One's files should have been an open book for her.

"You could ask our winged friend when he appears," Suzie suggested and Tosh frowned.

"Wouldn't that be rather rude of us? To ask him to help us access his personal information?" Tosh asked uncomfortably and Suzie laughed.

"He's Torchwood, Tosh. He already knows that there's no such thing as privacy here." Suzie tilted her head to one side. "Did he ask you why you suddenly appeared in the showers?"

"…No."

Suzie nodded. "That's because he knows that Torchwood always watches. And he has wings, Tosh. Do you really think that One didn't have him under their complete control? That band Jack asked you to remove? I bet it does more than the usual restraining bands the police have."

"Jack said he had deactivated it."

"Because it probably would have killed him if he'd left the Tower otherwise."

Tosh shook her head. "No. That would be… No."

Suzie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Tosh, we don't deal with Torchwood One for some very good reasons. When they last tried to get in here they wanted to kill all the weevils. They didn't just want to hunt the ones that came out of the sewers, they wanted to go down there and exterminate them. Eradicate them like rats. London has… had a motto when it came to anything alien. 'If its alien it's ours.' That's what Jack says they believe. But when it comes to actual aliens, it's more like 'if it's useful, keep it; if not, kill it.'"

"Why didn't Jack tell us this before?"

"Jack hates Torchwood One. He really, _really_ detests them. He does all the talking with them and he never lets us have contact with them. I don't know if he's trying to keep us safe or if he's afraid they'll say something he doesn't want us to know. Either way he keeps them at more than arm's length."

"I know he's always said to have nothing to do with them."

"Well, it will be worse now that One has stuffed up so comprehensively. We'll have all the other communities trying to blame us and Jack will rightfully deny that and any mention of One is going to have him in a very bad mood for the next few months."

"I didn't realise…" Tosh said almost apologetically.

Suzie shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You like the computers better anyway." She smiled wryly. "Jack had to tell me some of this because I'm his Second otherwise none of us would know any of it."

"Yes, he does like his secrets," Tosh agreed with a nod and then she was one with a wry smile. "But then, don't we all." It wasn't a question.

"That's Torchwood for you," Suzie replied.

* * *

Ianto Jones inched his way from his temporary quarters to the main Hub area. The relief he'd gotten from the hot water had faded and he was once again at the mercy of his cramping muscles. If it wasn't for the promise of further pain relief and food Ianto would have preferred to remain in his room and gone back to bed.

But Toshiko was waiting for him and presumably the other female member of Torchwood Three as well. Ianto did remember the Captain saying he would be heading straight back to London and sending her back. Ianto had to think hard for a moment. Costello, Suzie Costello, that was the name of the woman he'd briefly met. She'd be back in Cardiff by now and he'd be meeting her properly this time. At least the acerbic Doctor Harper was still in London.

His wings rustled, still hung low and brushing over the floor behind him. It felt wrong to have them dragging so low but at the moment it was impossible to fold them in their usual position over his back. And while his feathers were mostly waterproof, dust was another matter and Ianto knew he'd be spending some time cleaning them later.

He stopped and looked at the small flight of stairs that led up to the main Hub. Six small steps. Only two other people here and he had met them before. Only once but it still counted. And they knew about him. They had seen his wings and he was quite certain they had read his file. So why was he suddenly feeling so nervous?

Being bruised and injured didn't help he realised. It made him appear weak and he'd quickly learnt not to show any weaknesses at One. They hadn't liked it when he'd been too confident either and he had cultivated a polite and modest façade that he reached for now as he began to carefully climb the stairs, trying to quell his nerves with each slow step.

He'd survived so much over the last few years and he'd thought there'd been nothing new that could terrify him. Yesterday had taught him otherwise and he was doing his best to avoid thinking too hard about how he felt about that. He was alive, he'd survived again, he was no longer at One. That was all he needed to concentrate on at the moment. Later he would talk himself through the rest of it and minimise whatever breakdown was laying in wait for him.

By the time he reached the sixth step he had managed to control most of his nerves through force of will and denial. He stepped into the Hub proper with a slow but mostly confident step that nearly faltered when two pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"Ianto Jones," Suzie Costello said without inflection. "Nice to see you again."

"Thank you," he replied politely and took another couple of steps towards them. They were both staring rather intently at him and he had to force himself not to flush or twitch under their scrutiny.

"Uh…" Toshiko chewed at her bottom lip for a brief moment before visibly gathering her courage. "Ianto, um, is there a problem?" She waved her hand towards him in a vague gesture that had both Suzie and Ianto looking puzzled.

"What sort of problem?" Suzie asked Toshiko at the same time as Ianto shook his head.

"Um, you don't have a shirt on," Toshiko blushed as she spoke. The young Welshman wore only jeans and loosely laced shoes.

Ianto blinked in surprise and looked down at his bruised chest before looking up at them. Suzie was grinning and trying to hold back a chuckle while Toshiko seemed to be getting redder by the minute.

"I couldn't put one on. My back and ribs hurt too much." Ianto flushed as he replied. He hadn't given his shirtless state any thought.

"I'm not going to complain," Suzie said with a wide smile and a friendly leer that reminded Ianto of Captain Harkness. "It's a pleasant addition to the scenery here." Ianto's flush deepened at her obvious appreciation and he began to wish that he had ignored the pain and put his shirt on.

"It certainly is," Toshiko said and then her eyes went wide as she realised what she'd said. "Ohh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

Ianto shook his head carefully and managed to smile at her. "It's ok, it's just a bit embarrassing that's all."

"We don't mean to embarrass you Ianto, but we don't often get shirtless men in here, so you can't blame us from enjoying this opportunity," Suzie told him.

"Jack would probably take his shirt off if we asked," Tosh mused

"He'd take it off even if we didn't," Suzie snorted and tilted her head at Ianto. "You're very lucky he's not here at the moment," she grinned at him and Ianto involuntarily groaned. Both women laughed.

"Sounds like Jack is behaving true to form," Tosh giggled.

"He is predictable," Suzie agreed. "Well, Ianto, to save you from further embarrassment, how about we help you put a shirt on?"

"After the scan," Tosh added quickly and Suzie nodded.

"What scan?" Ianto asked.

"Oh, we have a medical scanner. Jack was supposed to run it over you when you first arrived but he forgot," Tosh told him as she picked up something from her desk. "It picks up most soft tissue damage and it'll let us know if you've managed to crack your ribs."

Ianto eyed the solid black unit Toshiko was holding with interest. "It's an alien scanner, isn't it?"

"Yes, Jack says it's a Bekaran scanner."

"Never heard of it," he said with his archival senses stirring. "Where did it come from?"

"It came through the rift a few years back," Tosh said watching as Ianto came closer to their desks, seeing his embarrassment fading as a look of curiousity appeared on his face. "Owen plays with it every six months or so and sometimes finds new scans that it can do."

Ianto studied the scanner, making no move to touch it as he looked from the small blank screen to the myriad of buttons around it. His lips moved soundlessly as if he were taking notes and Toshiko watched with fascination. She moved her hands slightly to have it laid flat over her palms and his lips curved briefly in a distracted smile of thanks, his eyes never leaving the unit.

"I think the doctor needs more fingers," he murmured as he moved his hand over the buttons without actually touching them. He brought up his other hand and held them both still and spread his fingers out. "The layout suggests that extra fingers on each side would allow for greater useability."

Toshiko frowned not seeing what he was saying and he reached out and cupped her hand. "Hold it as you were," he instructed. "One hand supporting with your fingers over the buttons here," he said as he moved her hand into position. Her fingers lightly touched four of the buttons on the side of the screen. His larger hand stayed under hers and his fingers curled up over the unit slotting neatly between hers. "See, seven buttons covered and two more within reach from one hand. And with your free hand for the other side, there's no telling how many more functions it has, although there's nothing that seems to indicate if this was intended for a right or left handed person either, so they're either ambidextrous or one side does the same as the other." Ianto's voice trailed off slightly and Toshiko looked at him.

"How do you know all this?"

"I work in the archives. I've seen a few items that need multiple hands to make them work." He smiled at her as he took his hands away and stepped back.

"I never would have thought of extra fingers," Toshiko said as she looked at the scanner with appraising eyes.

"Sure you would," Ianto replied. "There's a lot of speculation and guesswork when it comes to alien artifacts, but when you have to catalogue and cross reference each one, you soon learn to recognise certain similarities in design and usage."

"I'm not an archivist. I wouldn't know what to look for," Toshiko told him and he shook his head.

"This is where the speculation and guessing comes in. Where you need imagination and the ability to think outside the box." He smiled at her. "Archivists like boxes and labels but without someone to imagine and to test it, there's not much an archivist can do. And there aren't many archivists that actually have an imagination," he added with an edge that had her frowning. Before she could say anything he waved his hand at the scanner. "So, how does this scanner work?"

"It's very simple. I just wave it over you," she said. She thought about calling him on his attempt to distract her but he had visibly tensed up and his breathing was catching as he waited for his muscles to stop cramping. It could wait she decided and she turned the scanner on instead.

She held it six inches from his right side and moved it up and down slowly. The small screen glowed and the images shifted. She watched it carefully and Ianto remained still without her telling him to.

"The scrapes are all clean, but the bruising is deep," she said as she shifted around to scan his back. "Oh."

"What?"

"You… your wing's in the way," she told him looking uncomfortable and he smiled.

"They often are," he quipped and he took a deep breath before he reached behind to pull the right wing away from his back. His back ached as the muscles burnt. "Is that okay? It hurts too much to lift them up."

"Its fine," she told him, hearing the strain in his voice and she scanned him as quickly as she could. Her eyes flicked continually from the small screen to the bruised back in front of her. She itched to touch the dark feathers, to see if they were as soft as they looked. This close to him she could see the smaller fuzzy feathers lying underneath his wings. Along the underside of his right wing there was a red scar line that ran the length of the joint and few inches beyond. When she moved further around she found the skin between his wings to be smooth and unmarked. She moved to his left and he let go of his right wing to pull the left one up for her. She saw a matching scar under his left wing but couldn't linger too long as his breathing was becoming increasingly ragged. She finished the scan and stepped back. Ianto let his wing drop with visible relief and he sat down on the closest chair. He sat on it backwards, his arms crossed along the chair back. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms for a moment before lifting his head and looking at her. His face was pale and the shadows were dark under his eyes.

"You have two cracked ribs," Toshiko told him as he recovered. "And your muscles are really bruised. Your … wings, mainly the right one, are pulling at the muscles as well but there's no tearing. It's all just bruising and strain according to the scanner."

"Does it say how long before they're healed?"

"No, but we have some cream that works wonders on strained muscles. It'll help with the bruising as well."

Ianto tilted his head at her caught by the tone of her voice. "Alien cream?" he queried lightly.

"Maybe." She smiled at him.

"As long as it works," he smiled back at her.

"It does. I've used it before." She paused and watched him carefully. "We could use it now, before you get your shirt on. With the painkillers, we should be able to make it hurt a whole lot less for awhile."

Ianto nodded. "Sounds good." Pain relief was what he wanted and he was prepared to ignore her obvious and unnecessary discomfort with the situation to get it. He was too used to having people poke and prod at him to feel uncomfortable at the prospect of having soothing cream rubbed on his ribs. Besides, he thought, the more relaxed and accepting of it he appeared to be, the easier it would be for her.

"I'll just get it," she almost whispered and hurried off. He watched her disappear down a flight of steps. Medical facilities of some sort he assumed. Torchwood One had had a whole floor set aside as a mini hospital. He'd been in there on several occasions and they had been as impersonal as any government hospital. They had been more efficient however and had relied heavily on alien technology. They would have had a field day with that scanner, Ianto thought. Ianto was long used to One's system of using whatever they came across be it medication or technology so the thought of using alien cream to heal his bruises did not worry him. If anything he was relieved. Compared to the technology and other things they had used on him over the last two years, cream was completely harmless.

The smell of food had him looking around and he saw Suzie entering the hub with a large plastic bag in one hand and his shirt in the other. She made her way towards him holding the bag up.

"I thought you'd be hungry by now."

Ianto nodded. "What is it?"

"A mixture of Chinese and Thai. The Bay Restaurant around the corner does a delicious Pad Thai and Tosh loves their sea bass. We got you a Thai and Cantonese mix so you can pick out what you like."

Ianto blinked as his mouth watered and his stomach growled. Apart from the monthly pizza with Lisa, he'd been fed dried roast and overcooked vegetables from the London canteen with the ubiquitous bangers and mash every Thursday. The aromas from the bag in Suzie's hand was reawakening his appetite with a vengeance.

"Thank you," was all he could manage to say. Suzie gave him a small smile.

"Been awhile, has it?"

Ianto nodded. "Yes."

"Then you'll enjoy this. We usually eat upstairs in the boardroom but I don't think you need any more stairs in your life at the moment so we'll have it down here."

"Here's the cream," Toshiko announced as she reappeared.

"I'll plate the food while you do the cream," Suzie said and moved to the small kitchenette. Tosh and Ianto looked after her and then at each other.

"I can do my ribs if you do my back," Ianto said. "It'd be quicker that way."

"Sure," Toshiko nodded.

* * *

Toshiko had nearly finished rubbing the cream into Ianto's back when Suzie returned. Ianto was much slower as he rubbed the cream in carefully unable to move too fast or press too hard. Suzie tossed Toshiko a small towel to wipe her hands on after placing the food on her desk. Toshiko helped Ianto finish before moving the chairs closer to the food. Suzie came back with cups of tea and they all sat down.

It felt strange and unreal as they filled a plate for him, sharing their food with him and making sure he had more than enough. He hadn't been the recipient of such attention before. Pizza with Lisa had been completely different. He moved his chair closer to the desk and used his chopsticks to pick up a mouthful.

The food slipped from the sticks and he cursed silently. He was more than capable to eat with chopsticks but it had been two years since he had last used them. He looked at the plate and tried again. He managed to get the food almost to his mouth before it fell again and he felt the sticky warmth of rice sliding down his chest.

"The chair back's in the way," Toshiko said carefully.

"Yes, but I can't sit the other way," he pointed out.

"Use my stool," Toshiko said putting her plate back on the desk. "We'll lower it for you." She stood up and went to her station to get the tall stool she preferred to use. Owen and Suzie liked the backed chairs, Owen especially given to leaning back to the point of imminent disaster.

"Thanks," Ianto said as he picked the food from his chest. "I need a bib," he muttered.

"Let's get your shirt on and then you can tuck one in to it," Suzie suggested.

"You have bibs?" Ianto asked in disbelief.

"Well, not exactly bibs," Suzie replied. "But we have some napkins."

"Why do we have napkins?" Toshiko asked.

Suzie shrugged. "No idea but there's a full dinner set and tea service as well. They look like they've been here for decades."

"Where are they?"

"That room off from the boardroom. There's all sorts of old stuff in there."

"I'll get the napkins," Toshiko said and stood up.

"And I will get you dressed," Suzie added as she held up a shirt. Ianto looked ruefully at them. He felt as if he had suddenly acquired two older sisters and looking from one determined face to the other, both smiling at him, he knew he wasn't going to be able to refuse them.

"Thank you," he said with the most genuine smile they'd seen from him so far.

"Right, let's make this as painless as possible," Suzie told him, shaking the shirt out and looking at the alterations with interest. Ianto was glad she'd picked up one of the button down shirts. There was no way he would be able to lift his arms up for a t-shirt.

Suzie moved around him carefully easing his arm into the first sleeve and then stretching it across his back, keeping it bunched up over his wings. She helped him with the other arm, pulling the material taut over his back to make it stretch as far as it could and lessening the distance Ianto had to move his arm. Once his arms were in she eased the shirt down his back, keeping the splits wide to slip past his wings. The feathers rustled as her hands brushed against them.

"They're soft," she murmured.

"Yeah," Ianto replied resisting the urge to shake them out. He always felt the need to do that after anyone touched them like a cat after its fur had been rubbed the wrong way. He could feel her pulling the shirt sides together under his wings and couldn't lift them up to make it easier for her. His back twitched as she moved them upwards slightly.

"They're heavy," she noted in surprise.

"Yes," Ianto nodded.

"Birds always seem so light," Suzie remarked as she joined the velcro strips and made sure the shirt was even.

"Birds are, when they're small." Ianto began doing up the buttons of his shirt.

"Birds have hollow bones," Toshiko said as she re-joined them with a handful of white napkins. "The scan… your ribs aren't," she added shyly.

"No, they're not." Ianto took a breath. "The bones in my wings are, but the rest of me is still human."

Suzie stepped away from him and surveyed the smooth back of his shirt around the wings. She gave a small nod of approval at her work and then moved back to her chair. "That would mean you couldn't fly either, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I can't fly." Ianto kept his face carefully blank. Flying was a topic he did not want to discuss, but didn't miss the flash of disappointment that crossed Toshiko's face. "Even without the different bone density there's also the lack of a tail. No way to balance and steer."

"That's a shame," Suzie commented without insult. "All the pretty and none of the perks."

"Yeah," Ianto agreed keeping his tone light and easy. It was too easy to feel bitter at times and he worked hard not to let it show. He took the napkin Toshiko was holding out to him and carefully tucked it into his shirt. He looked up at the two women and smiled. "I think I look a twat."

"But your shirt will be clean," Toshiko told him with a laugh as she helped him pull it wider across his shirt. "Completely covered."

"And it may inspire Owen to have a care when he eats," Suzie added with an amiable grin.

"I doubt it," Toshiko replied. "Owen probably can't even spell napkin, let alone recognise one."

* * *

Ianto felt himself relaxing as he ate. The two women did most of the talking and Ianto was content to listen to them. They didn't ask him many questions and they avoided being too specific when they did ask. Ianto was very grateful for that.

He knew and they knew that he would have to answer their questions some time but they were prepared to wait. And despite his wings hanging like a dead weight behind him and the aches that had him struggling for breath occasionally; despite being in a strange new place and facing an even more uncertain future, he found himself content to just eat and listen. Time enough to let the nightmares out when he didn't hurt so much.

The sound of a phone ringing had him blinking out of his thoughts.

"Jack," Suzie said into her mobile after picking up it from her desk. Her eyes focused on Ianto and she nodded. "Yes, he's awake. We've just fed him."

Ianto looked at his empty plate. He hadn't thought he was that hungry but the food had been delicious and so different to what he'd become used to. Toshiko reached for his plate as they both listened to Suzie's side of the phone call.

"Yes, Tosh ran the scanner over him… nothing major, just bruising and a cracked rib or two."

Ianto pulled the napkin from his shirt and made a note to put it in with the next load of washing. After the first few mouthfuls he'd had no problems with spillage and had been quietly pleased at regaining his old skills with the chopsticks, but he didn't have that many shirts and he wanted to preserve them for as long as he could. Getting new shirts and getting them altered to fit was something he was going to have to address at some later time but it wasn't as pressing as his other concerns.

"Tosh rubbed in that Praxian cream and we'll …" Suzie paused and suddenly grinned at Ianto. "Yes Jack, she rubbed it _all over_ him." Ianto blushed, rolling his eyes as Toshiko started laughing. Ianto ducked his head briefly. "No Jack, I think he'll be all healed by the time you return. Sorry," Suzie continued and Ianto looked up to see Suzie looking and sounding anything but sorry. He couldn't help smiling as Toshiko continued to laugh. It wasn't hard to imagine the Captain's no doubt mock-offended reaction to the teasing. It struck Ianto again how different Three was.

"No Jack, I don't think you need to talk to him. You'll only confuse the poor boy," Suzie admonished the Captain and Ianto was torn between feeling offended and thankful. Probably more on the thankful side of things he thought. The contact he'd had with the Captain made him cautious and he had yet to reconcile what he'd seen so far with what he'd heard about the man. Although some aspects of the Captain's reputation needed no reconciling he realised as he listened to Suzie.

"Yes Jack, he does have his clothes on now and no, I will not get him to remove them just for you." Suzie rolled her eyes at Ianto and gave an exaggerated sigh. "No Jack, I will not take photos of him either now or next time ..."

Toshiko smiled happily as she listened and rested her hand lightly on Ianto's arm. "He's really quite harmless," she murmured. "But he does love to tease and flirt and we all find our own ways of reacting to it."

Ianto nodded. "Yes, I kinda got that from him before." Although Ianto wasn't sure that he'd ever call the Captain harmless. He looked at her. "But does he _ever_ stop?"

"Sometimes. He does understand the concept of time and place even if he usually ignores it."

Ianto groaned quietly. "Oh joy." Tosh smiled at him.

"It could be worse," she told him and his eyebrow rose in a silent query. "That could be Owen on the phone after you," she responded with twinkling eyes. Before he could reply Suzie held the phone out.

"Hey Ianto, Owen wants a word."

Toshiko bit her lip in an attempt to stop the loud burst of laughter she could feel wanting to escape. Ianto groaned much louder this time and Suzie looked from one to the other wondering what she'd missed. She waved the phone at Ianto and he took it as if expecting it to explode as soon as he touched it.

"Yes?" he said as he placed it to his ear.

"_I told you to ring me as soon as you woke up birdman," _Owen's voice grated in his ear and Ianto stiffened slightly.

"You forgot to give me your number," Ianto retorted and heard the sound of what might have been a snort.

"_No excuse. The girls would have given it to you. How long did you sleep?" _ Ianto could hear the sudden authority in the last words and it startled him. Doctor-mode he realised as he responded to the tone.

"About twelve hours."

"_Good. It sounded like Tosh used the good cream on you so get her to do that again tomorrow."_

"Okay."

"_Make sure you do. I'll be ringing tomorrow to check up on you. Have you had anything to eat yet?"_

"Yes."

"_How's the head?"_

"It's fine." Ianto lifted his fingers and brushed them carefully over the wound. He could feel the sutures poking through his hair. He always forgot it was there, one tiny ache lost amidst the other far larger hurts. "It doesn't hurt."

"_Have you had another painkiller yet?"_

"Not yet."

"_Take one now and then go sleep again."_

"Yes Doctor."

"_You'll be fine by week's end if you do as you're told. I don't want to have to patch you up all over again when I get back there, birdman."_

"And thank you for caring, Doctor Prat." Ianto rolled his eyes and then realised he'd spoken aloud as the two women started laughing and he heard Doctor Harper loudly swearing at him through the phone.

* * *

Ianto eased himself into his bed with a pleasant drowsiness threatening to overtake the continual ache of his body. The sedative within the painkillers was starting to have an effect. It took a little careful manoeuvring to get his wings settled behind him as he sank into the thin mattress and pulled the blankets up.

He stared at the open door and the dim light from the hall that lit his small room. In the Tower his room had either been brightly lit or in complete darkness. So bright during the day and so dark in the night once the door had been closed and locked. He shivered and curled up.

Three was different; Three was not One he told himself. There was dim lights and no locked doors. There was Thai food and long hot showers. And there was Toshiko and Suzie. He'd spent a couple of hours with them and he had the feeling that he could like them. Really like them and not just tolerate them as he had many of those in the sub-levels at One. It frightened him a little.

It wasn't that he hadn't cared for the people around him at One. It was just the way they looked at him, the way they treated him. There was always a distance, an awareness that he was different and he had let them keep their distance. But there was no distance here in Cardiff and those in London were all gone. Gone. All gone.

He closed his eyes as they prickled and he turned his head to press his face into the pillow. Several tears managed to escape before he forced himself back to calmness with slow deep breaths that made his ribs ache. He had no intention of breaking down into one large sodden teary mess. He knew how Torchwood dealt with such things and he had no intention of that happening to him. He would parcel it out in small manageable pieces and while he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it all to himself, he was certain he could the worst of it hidden. He had done it two years ago, he could do it again.

He shifted and relaxed further, the memories of One safely locked up in a small corner of his mind for now. Time enough to remember later, preferably after the bruises had gone and when his muscles no longer ached.

* * *

..

* * *

Tengu (heavenly dogs) take their name from a dog-like Chinese demon (Tiangou) and were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey. They are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. Buddhism long held that the _tengu_ were disruptive demons and harbingers of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.

The Bay Restaurant site does not have a takeaway menu, and there is no mention of a takeaway service provided. I couldn't find any reference anywhere that said they have one, so I have taken the liberty of giving them one for the purpose of this fic. If anyone does know if they do takeaway, please let me know.

Author's Note: my apologies for the delay, and thank you for your patience… I could blame the bunnies for being unco-operative but they have been more than helpful and prolific, and it's been reality and all that entails that's managed to get in my way…

… there will be one more chapter and that will finish off this episode…

silken :)


	6. Cardiff part 3

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title: Cardiff**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes:** A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

**Summary:** Just hours after discovering Ianto Jones in Torchwood One after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness has brought him to Cardiff and into the Hub of Torchwood Three

* * *

**Cardiff – part 3**

Ianto rubbed at his left wrist. The restraining band was gone and he didn't like it. He kept circling his left wrist with his right hand. No band. No extra weight. Nothing. His arm felt wrong.

He had worn that band for two years. He'd been given no choice when it had been placed on his arm and for the first few days he had tugged and worried at the band. But then it had become part of him and he had long stopped thinking of it.

This morning when he had left the shower room he had found Toshiko standing there, waiting for him. She had been overly apologetic about not removing the band earlier and he had tried to brush her concern away but she had almost dragged him back to his room, sat him down and removed the band. The laser saw had cut through the metal easily and almost silently. Less than ten seconds and it had fallen from his arm. He had swallowed hard at the sudden and strangling sense of loss.

"That must feel better," she'd said with something in her voice and her face that he couldn't quite identify but sounded and looked close to relief. He had thought it strange that she had felt the relief that he hadn't but his immediate sense of loss had kept him from following it through.

"Yeah," he had replied giving her the lie when the truth would have had her asking questions he couldn't answer. She had taken the band with her and he had bitten his lip to stop himself from demanding it back.

Suzie had the band now. He could see her studying it at her desk and his hand tightened at his wrist. He hoped that whatever the Captain had done to deactivate it could not be reversed. Ianto didn't want it to ever be functional again but he knew Torchwood and anything alien was always going to be prodded and poked at. It appeared that Three was not so different to One in that respect.

He looked around him, seeking a distraction from his thoughts. He lifted himself carefully up from the chair he was straddling, hands tightening on the chair back as he straightened and his back and ribs protested. He swung his leg back and stood up letting go of the chair, letting his breath out slowly. His wings still hung low to the ground and he moved carefully.

"You okay, Ianto?" Toshiko asked in a soft voice and he smiled slightly at her.

"Yes, just needed to move," he replied with a nod.

"Owen rang earlier, said we could cut back on the sedatives you're taking," she told him and he nodded again. That sounded good. Apart from the couple of hours awake yesterday he'd done nothing but sleep and he didn't want to do that anymore. But until he healed there wasn't much else he could do. He was getting better, he could feel it. The cream that Toshiko had applied and the other pills he had taken were working and although he couldn't lift his wings yet, the fierce stabbing muscles cramps that held him immobile had eased considerably. The bone deep ache was still there and the bruises were still large colourful patterns circling his torso. And to his embarrassment he still needed help to put his shirt on.

He closed his eyes briefly. Two days ago London had burned and he was worried about being embarrassed? He shook his head. He was alive, he should be grateful for that instead except that London felt distant and fuzzy behind too much sleep and the bruising ache of his ribs.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Toshiko's voice brought him back to the present and he smiled.

"That would be nice, thank you." He followed her to the small kitchenette area and looked at it curiously. A sink with cupboards above and below and a small bench it was tiled and tidy and compact. A teapot and a drip percolator stood near a small hotplate on the bench. He watched Toshiko open cupboards to retrieve the tea and two cups.

"Won't Suzie want a cup too?" he asked.

"No, she prefers coffee. Actually we all live on coffee," Toshiko said with a smile. "But I can't make coffee well so… I make tea instead." There was a resigned almost depreciating edge to her voice and Ianto frowned.

"It is harder to make good tea," he said. "I never could learn to do it right," he added lightly. He pointed to a towel covered appliance at the very end of the bench. "What's that?"

Toshiko shrugged. "A coffee machine."

Ianto blinked. "You have two coffee machines?" he asked as he looked back at the percolator.

Toshiko laughed. "No-one can use the big one. Its one of those old fashioned ones. The other one is easier for us." Ianto shook his head and moved across to lift the towel.

"Oh," he breathed out with a sound of gentle awe and Toshiko looked at him in surprise.

He didn't notice and she was rather bemused as he reached out and oh so very carefully ran his fingers over the tarnished steel and dusty pipes that made up the incomprehensible machine. He tapped at the gauge and bent over it peering behind it. She had never seen anyone so engrossed in something that wasn't of alien origin.

"What is it?"

"It's a Faema. An old, old coffee machine. One of the first lever types I think, probably made in the late 1940's or early 50's." Ianto's voice was hushed and his fingers continually wandered over levers and handles. "I'd have to look at the manufacturer's plate to get the model, but this, this is a classic machine."

"You know about coffee machines?" Toshiko asked curiously.

"A little bit." Ianto shrugged slightly and ignored the resultant pulling of his wings still engrossed in examining the coffee machine. "I used to work in a coffee shop when I first moved to London. The owner used to collect and restore them."

"So, you could use this one?" she asked.

"Probably. It needs a good cleaning first though," he smiled at the machine. He turned to look at her and now his smile was all for her. "And with good beans it'll make _very_ good coffee."

Toshiko looked at the machine. For a machine that just made coffee she didn't understand why it had to look so complicated. It wasn't as big as the machines in the coffee shops by the Plass and their coffee was good enough. She shrugged and looked back at him.

"If you want to try then I don't see that anyone would stop you."

Ianto chewed at his bottom lip for a moment. "I… I don't have anything to do here, Toshiko. It would give me something to do while my ribs heal."

"Jack said you would be working in the Archives," Toshiko remarked as she turned her attention back to the tea.

"I know, but I'm not able to carry and lift things and that's what it sounds like I'd have to do if the Archives are as bad as Doctor Harper said."

Toshiko laughed gently. "It depends on how much exaggerating he was doing. They _are_ rather a mess. We've never had time to really sort them out so things have kind of piled up. We're a small team," she looked at him and gave a small shrug, "and there's always something more important or more pressing that needs attention. Archiving and filing tends to get over-looked." Ianto blinked at her casual dismissal. There had been memos at least once a week on the maintaining and continual upgrading of the Archives in London and the two floors of sub-Archives had been only a small fraction of the complete collection in the Tower. He repressed a shudder and hoped that Doctor Harper had indeed exaggerated about the state of the archives.

"Perhaps later you could show me the Archives?" he asked.

"Of course." She smiled at him and handed him a cup of tea.

* * *

Dr Harper had not exaggerated about the archives. If anything, the Doctor had been completely honest Ianto thought as he stood in a doorway and stared at the boxes piled in front of him.

He couldn't see beyond the wall of boxes. There were no labels on the boxes and they looked to be crammed full of artefacts and files. It was as if they had just put items in or on the closest box and Ianto was struggling to hide his horror.

"Has anyone filed _anything_?" he asked losing the battle with his self-control.

"It doesn't seem necessary," Toshiko said. "All documents are saved to the database and I always write up a note for any artefacts I look at."

"Do the others do that?"

Toshiko shrugged. "I think so."

Ianto took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ignoring the protesting of his ribs. "I am really going to need to have that coffee machine working," he muttered as he looked in the closest boxes. "Where do I even start?"

"Is it really bad?" Toshiko asked him and Ianto's face was blank.

"Bad? No. It's worse. So much worse." He waved a hand at the piled up boxes, his head shaking in an unconscious denial of what was in front of him. He began thinking of what needed to be done. He was going to have to move the boxes to find the actual Archives and then he was hoping that the Archives were in some kind of reasonable order so he could sort all of these boxes and place them properly. The thought that he might have to overhaul the archives before he could empty these boxes made him shudder. He let his breath out.

First things first, he told himself. Get the coffee machine working. He wasn't going to face the archives without decent coffee in him.

* * *

It took Ianto all day before he was satisfied with the condition of the coffee machine. He dismantled it completely and cleaned each part carefully before reassembling it. His injuries meant he had to take frequent breaks. His back and ribs ached if he stood up for too long, they ached if he sat down for too long and they ached if he moved around too much but he refused to stop for more than thirty minutes at a time.

At the end of the day he smiled happily at the gleaming machine. His old boss would have been pleased and proud of the result. He brushed a soft cloth over the now highly reflective steel and chrome. Copper and silver shone and Ianto found it hard to stop touching it. It had been too long since he had felt such a sense of accomplishment over something.

"Wow. That's incredible," Toshiko remarked suddenly and he started to find her standing beside him staring at the machine. "It's hard to believe that's the same machine it was earlier. It's so shiny."

"She's a beauty," Ianto replied. There was a possessive edge to his voice that had Toshiko looking at him curiously. Ianto didn't notice. "If you could buy some beans for her, I'll make the coffee tomorrow. Good beans mind. I'll give you a list."

Toshiko nodded. "Good beans for good coffee?" It wasn't really a question although it sounded like one.

"Yes," Ianto nodded. "I'll write down a few different kinds. She'll make gorgeous coffee."

Toshiko studied him for a moment. "Why are you calling it 'she'?"

"She… it…" Ianto looked at Toshiko with a helpless expression on his face. "She just feels like a she to me."

Toshiko smiled at him. He looked rather cute and young in his lost confusion over something so minor that she patted his arm gently. "Give me the list. After all your talk, this coffee better be very good."

* * *

The next morning Tosh gave him the requested beans and fifteen minutes later the rich smell of coffee permeated the whole Hub. Tosh and Suzie exchanged appreciative glances and waited until Ianto appeared carefully carrying a tray with three cups on it.

"Where did you find that tray?" Tosh asked as she studied the cup he handed her.

"The small room where the napkins came from," he replied. "There's a set of espresso cups in there too that probably came with the machine. If no-one minds I could bring them down and clean them up for use."

"Go ahead," Suzie told him as she accepted her cup. "In fact use anything in there that you want. No-one's ever really bothered with that room. I don't think anyone even knows exactly what's in there, so no-one's going to object."

Tosh took a small sip of the rich dark coffee as she listened. It was better than good. It was ambrosial and Tosh was hard-pressed to completely express her delight with it. Even Suzie was vocal in her appreciation after her first taste and Ianto felt a lessening of a tension he hadn't been consciously aware of. He was fully aware that there was nowhere else he could go and every tiny bit of acceptance he could garner bolstered him against the insecurity that hid below his aching ribs and the loss of One that he refused to think about.

He watched them enthuse over his coffee and smiled into the fragrant steam of his own cup. He was feeling better today. He had managed to get his shirt on without help although Tosh had had to remove it again to apply the healing cream to his back. His skin was still deeply bruised and his ribs and muscles itched and ached, but he was moving easier, with steady deliberate movements compensating for the pain. His wings still brushed the floor but he had lifted them several times to gauge the progress of his healing. He knew he wouldn't feel completely healed until they were folded at his back in their rightful position.

A sudden and incessant beeping had Tosh and Suzie hastily putting their cups down and moving to one of the several screens at Tosh's desk.

"Weevil," Suzie said with a quick glance. She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment and then looked at Ianto. "We have to go and take care of this. Are you familiar with CCTV tracking?"

Ianto shook his head. "No."

"It's easy enough to learn," Suzie told him as she tapped quickly at a keyboard. "You sit here and follow us through the CCTV network. We can talk through the com-link and all you need to do is tell us if the weevil moves. Simple."

Ianto nodded. "Okay." He moved closer and watched as she highlighted the weevil's current position on one screen and opened another to the network. Tosh appeared beside them with keys in one hand and an ear piece in the other.

"Here. Tap once to activate and two to close," she said as she handed it to him.

"Thank you," he said, twirling it between his fingers before placing it in his ear, prodding at it and manoeuvring it into a comfortable position. Suzie moved away from the screens and Ianto took her place.

"We keep in touch all the time," Suzie said. "If anything changes on the CCTV you must tell us straight-away. If we see something, we'll tell you. We don't want to lose track of the weevil and we certainly don't want the public getting involved either."

"Okay," Ianto nodded as he looked from her to the screens and back again.

"You'll be fine," Tosh said encouragingly. "We would have taught you how to do all this anyway. With Jack and Owen in London you're just having to learn a bit quicker, that's all."

Ianto watched them leave and settled himself on a tall stool. He watched the screens for a moment listening to them talk briefly before seeing what appeared to be a smaller version of the SUV that had brought him to Cardiff appear on one of the screens.

"_Can you see us, Ianto?" _Suzie's voice echoed in his ear and he nodded before realising that she couldn't see him. He tapped his earpiece.

"Yes, I see you," he said quickly.

"_The system automatically tracks us so you'll be able to always see where we are. You need to keep checking the weevil though. There are always blind spots and you can move the cameras with mouse or keyboard controls to make sure you keep it in sight."_

Ianto listened as Suzie gave him a rundown of the basic functions and he played with them when she had finished. It was strange to be on this side of the coms he thought. His previous team had had an operator with a soft Scottish accent who had almost whispered directions and information through their coms. Always calm, always cheerful the whole team had trusted that voice implicitly. Scotty had always known where they were, had always given them every bit of information he could and had never failed to laugh at the "beam us up Scotty' line that Mark had used every time. Ianto had never wondered how Scotty had done everything but now he could see it in action. It didn't take much more thought to realise that Scotty had been sending information supplied from the massive database One had housed. Ianto looked at the screens and knew that somewhere there were the menus and programs that would link to the database here. A database that was no doubt filled with information from Three's Archives and any shared information from One and Two. A database that was going to be under his control once he started on the archives.

Ianto let his breath out. He was never going to be part of a retrieval team again, but he could support one. And Torchwood Three only had four members. They obviously needed all the support they could get and he could provide that support. It would be something else he could do. Something a bit more necessary than making coffee. Something to justify being here. To being alive. Again.

"_Has the weevil moved?"_ Tosh asked him and he blinked to re-focus on the screens.

"No, it's still there," he told her and settled more comfortably on the stool, staving off a sudden wave of guilt with a restless flutter of his wings.

He watched as they appeared near the weevil, not quite following the brief flurry of movement that ended with the weevil on the ground and the girls standing over it. Ianto blinked as he saw them open a bag and begin to dress the obviously unconscious creature.

"What are you doing?" he asked in disbelief.

"_Putting a coverall on it," _Suzie told him.

"But… but why?" Ianto asked again. It was an _alien _for God's sake. Torchwood had strict procedures and rules on how to deal with aliens in the field. Ianto had studied all the manuals. Dressing them had not been one of them.

"_It hides the differences in their anatomy. People panic when they see something that is most definitely not human wandering around. At a distance no-one's going to know that he's not human."_

"He? It's male?"

"_Looks like one. Owen says that the males have a more pronounced spinal ridge. We'll tag it as male anyway."_

"You tag them?" Ianto's hand went straight to his bare left wrist and he held it tight.

"_Yes. We'll be able to find him if he leaves the sewers again."_

"Catch and release?" Ianto felt dizzy as if his inner balanced had suddenly tilted.

"_Yes," _Tosh answered him. _"We don't have the facilities to hold him and he hasn't done anything wrong so we'll return him to the sewer and the system will monitor him."_

Ianto was silent as he tried to understand. Torchwood One would have restrained any alien and transported it back to the Tower immediately. It would have been taken straight to the cells and then to the labs. There would have been no consideration given to its clothes or lack of them. It didn't matter if the aliens were peaceful or vicious, they were all treated the same. Test first and apologise later if the alien was still alive. Ianto rubbed at his wrist. No wonder there had been such bad blood between Yvonne and the Captain. Their procedures couldn't have been more dissimilar if they'd tried.

Ianto watched as the weevil was manhandled to the closest sewer entrance and wondered how much different his own life would have been if he'd been in Cardiff when they'd found that splicer.

* * *

The rich scent of Ianto's coffee hit Suzie and Toshiko when they returned to the Hub.

"I could get used to this," Suzie said as she saw Ianto appear with his laden tray.

"I thought you'd need one." Ianto proffered the tray and the girls took their cups and walked to their desks.

"Always," Suzie nodded. "Call outs would be more bearable knowing we'd be coming back to this," she added with a friendly smile.

Ianto bowed his head slightly. "I'm sure I could manage that," he told her with an almost bland tone.

Tosh laughed. "You sound just like a butler."

Ianto blinked at her and his eyebrow rose. Suzie started chuckling as Tosh began giggling at his expression. Ianto sensed only good natured teasing on Tosh's part and he relaxed with a smile.

"I don't answer to Jeeves," Ianto told them in an excessively polite voice. It was a poor joke but it made them laugh and Ianto felt a small comfortable warmth appear in his chest.

* * *

Any warmth he felt towards his new teammates disappeared the next morning as he faced the boxes in the Archives. Even two cups of coffee couldn't overcome the trepidation he felt. It looked more of a mess than it had done yesterday which didn't seem possible. He rather hoped that it was all a bad dream but it wasn't and he sighed deeply. Getting another cup of coffee would be merely delaying the inevitable so he squared his shoulders and looked into the first box.

It took him thirty minutes of pushing and pulling before he managed to clear a path between the boxes. He leant against a small tower of boxes and contemplated the gap as he tried to relax his aching back and ribs. He had caught his wings several times and had trodden on them once when trying to drag a box backwards. He had tried to be careful and not to overstrain himself, but most of the boxes were heavy and the girls were busy and he couldn't rely on their help all the time. And besides, the Archives were going to be his domain, it should be him who did the work.

Ianto smiled at himself. First the coffee machine and now the Archives. He was becoming rather possessive but he knew exactly why that was. When your life had been ripped apart, anything that gave you purpose was to be grabbed at and held onto. No matter how tenuous or unwise it might prove to be.

Ianto pushed himself upright and slipped between the boxes. Time to see just what he claiming.

* * *

Tosh picked up the phone on its third ring.

"Hello Jack."

"_Hey Tosh. All going well there?"_

"Yes, everything is under control."

"_Good, that's what I like to hear."_

"How are things there?"

"_It's a disaster." _ Jack lost all of his cheerfulness. _"UNIT and the JIC are squabbling over jurisdictional matters, Downing Street wants to appoint an oversight committee and the Palace has overridden all of them by appointing a representative who seems to be rather ineffective so far."_

"What about you? Wouldn't you be the new Director now?"

"_I don't want it and I've already told them so. Torchwood Two can have that title and all the dishonour it currently has."_

Tosh blinked at the bitterness of his words and decided not to ask further. "How much longer will you be there?"

"_Another week probably. It's too much of a mess here and I don't trust the bureaucrats from making it worse."_ Jack's voice conveyed his disgust and Tosh was glad she wasn't there.

"How's Owen?"

"_He's fine. Bossing whoever he can and generally making himself the most detested person after me with all the other agencies."_

"He's looking after the survivors isn't he?" Tosh asked. They all knew Owen and when it came to anyone he considered a patient he moved heaven and earth to help them. Obdurate and stubborn and so often right, all the hospitals in Cardiff had long given up trying to fight him and it sounded as if London was starting to learn that too. Tosh heard Jack's sigh.

"_Yes. He's doing what he can for them and he won't leave them until he's satisfied they'll be cared for."_

"How many, Jack?" Tosh asked gently.

"_Thirty-nine are still alive but some of them won't last much longer."_ Jack's voice was heavy.

"And Ianto," Tosh said trying to combat the dejection she heard. "He survived."

"_Yes, but officially he died two years ago, so it doesn't really count." _There was a small pause before he continued in a gentler tone. _"But thank you for trying, Tosh." _His voice lifted again back into the cheerful Jack she knew so well. _"And how is the young gorgeous Welshman today?"_

Tosh giggled. "He's in the Archives at the moment."

"_Not only gorgeous but incredibly brave if he's ventured there," _Jack replied and Tosh laughed.

"He wasn't impressed when he saw it," Tosh said.

"_Don't let him work too hard. Owen says he's still a few weeks away from complete healing."_

"Suzie and I will keep an eye on him. We were thinking we'd start teaching him how to use the tracking programs."

"_Sounds good, and get him set up in the system, he'll need the access for the archives."_ There was a noticeable pause before Jack spoke again. _"In fact you can start teaching him all the programs you think he should know. Don't let him do too much, just ease him in to it."_

"All the programs?"

"_Yes,"_ Jack's voice had a thoughtful edge to it. _"He's lost everything and he's dead to everyone but us. We need to give him a reason to feel useful and needed."_

Tosh nodded as she listened. She understood the needing to show the gratitude of surviving, of being rescued in serving, in being useful. It was a way to make amends, to prove that you weren't a bad person.

"I'll teach him," she said without hesitation.

"_Thank you Tosh,"_ Jack said softly with an audible smile. _"And the first load of salvaged artefacts should be turning up on your doorstep in a few hours."_

"What?" Tosh almost squeaked as her voice rose in shock. "A few hours? Jack, we need more warning than that," she scolded him. "How much is coming?"

"_Just one truck for starters. There'll be more tomorrow but I wanted to get this first lot away from here as soon as I could while UNIT are still distracted."_

"More tomorrow?" Tosh exclaimed. "Jack, where are we going to store it all?"

"_Just find space wherever you can. Open up one of the lower levels we never use if you have to. And please make sure the driver and whoever he has with him forget exactly where all this stuff has gone."_

"We'll offer them coffee before they leave."

"_Good. Keep it as small a dose as you can. They'd get suspicious if they suddenly lose a whole day."_

"I'll tell Suzie. She's much better at retconning than I am."

"_Thank you, and don't let Ianto archive it and you and Suzie keep from poking through it as well. There's some nasty stuff in there that needs proper containing which I'll do when I get back."_

Tosh frowned. "We can do that for you. Suzie and I know the containment procedures."

"_No, Tosh. It's too dangerous. You're not familiar with the items. No arguments." _Jack's voice was firm and strong.

"We'd be careful, Jack. Don't you trust us? If these items are as dangerous as you say shouldn't they be contained as soon as possible rather than wait for you to get here?"

"_I do trust you Tosh, but I've seen these items before and they need specific handling that you haven't been trained for. I've packed them to ensure they're safe for the trip there and they'll stay safe so long as none of you touch them. So please, just unload the truck and leave them be."_

"Alright Jack," Tosh replied, feeling both disappointed and curious. Jack obviously heard and understood her mixed feeling because he laughed.

"_There's a small box with your name on it. Something I think you might enjoy playing with."_

Tosh's disappointment vanished and she grinned excitedly. "I'll look forward to it. Do I get a hint as to what it is?" She paused. "You're bribing me aren't you?" she accused him lightly.

"_Yes and its working too, isn't it?"_

"Yes," she replied with a mock scowl.

"_That's my Tosh," _Jack's voice smiled and Tosh smiled in response. There was no winning against Jack and she never pushed too hard. She trusted him too much to ever seriously question his decisions. _"There's a box with Suzie's name on it as well. Wouldn't want to be accused of playing favourites now would I?"_

Tosh laughed. "You never do that," she told him.

"_I know, I spoil you both. Too much sometimes I think."_ Jack teased and Tosh shook her head.

"I think we spoil you just as much in return," she told him.

"_It's no more than I deserve," _Jack agreed in a solemn tone.

"You don't always deserve it," she retorted quickly and he laughed.

"_But you love me anyway,"_ he replied smugly.

"I'm reconsidering that," she said with a smirk and she could hear the unseen pout in the small noise that echoed in her ear. She laughed. "We'll call you after the truck's left."

"_Thanks Tosh."_

* * *

"It's been at least an hour," Tosh said cautiously as she and Suzie stared at the gap in the boxes that led into the Archives.

"I think it might be closer to two hours," Suzie replied thoughtfully.

"Do you think we should go and look for him?" Tosh asked.

"I suppose we should, but do we really_ want_ to?" Suzie responded. "I got lost last time I was in there and you barely escaped with your life when those boxes fell on you."

"That was Owen's fault for stacking them so unevenly." Tosh chewed at her bottom lip. "Do you think he's lost? He's an Archivist, wouldn't that mean he knows his way around?"

"Well, yes, but I doubt our little cavern of knowledge compares to London."

"It doesn't," Ianto's voice interjected with obvious disgust and they stared as he appeared. Dusty didn't begin to describe the state of him. Cobwebs and dust webs hung all over him. Dust smudged across his forehead and down one cheek. His hands looked dirty and his clothes were covered in dust streaks.

"Are… are you okay?" Tosh asked hesitantly, torn between laughing and commiserating at his dishevelled state and his disapproving manner. A quick look at Suzie confirmed that she was feeling equally torn.

"I think so." He nodded and coughed. "Fortunately I am not allergic to dust. I think yours is sentient."

Suzie blinked. "Sentient dust?"

Ianto nodded and more dust fell from him. "Yes. It was following me around after the spiders got bored."

"Spiders?" Tosh spluttered.

"Yes." He stared at her with a completely serious expression on his face. "There are rather a lot of them down there, and there are some that I don't believe originated on Earth."

"Alien spiders," Suzie stated in a flat voice and a disbelieving twist to her eyebrows.

"Yes. The fur and tail gives them away."

"Spiders with fur?" Tosh's eyes were wide.

"Yes," Ianto repeated.

"I don't believe you," Suzie stated. "If we had alien spiders running around we'd know about it."

"Then can you remove the figment of my imagination that's currently attached to my back," Ianto asked without any inflection in his voice. He turned around and both women gasped.

Somehow attached to his back, right between his dusty wings was a spider. A six inch spider with dark fur and a tail. Incongruous ears twitched above four pairs of dark eyes that gleamed as the spider turned full circle before seeming to stare at them. Blue iridescence suddenly flared as small fangs shifted and Tosh and Suzie both took a step back.

"I… ahh… it's… umm," Tosh tried to say something comprehensible as she stared.

"Yes, it is," Ianto replied. "But do you think you could get it off me. I can't reach it and I don't want it taking up residence in my wings."

"Have you tried shaking it off?" Suzie asked as her shock began to fade.

"Yes, that got rid of the other one, but this one's more persistent."

"How many are there?" Tosh asked her voice rising.

"I don't know. I saw about six of them, but there could easily be more."

"Isn't it heavy? What if it's poisonous?"

"It's not that heavy and I'm not going to let it bite me to find out. I just want it _off_," Ianto said forcefully. "_Please_," he added politely.

"We could poke at it," Suzie suggested as she looked into the boxes near her and pulled out a four foot rod of what appeared to crimson coloured wood.

"I really don't think that that's good idea," Ianto said as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"There's not many other choices," Suzie replied logically.

"I know," Ianto sighed. "Don't mind me, just a bit concerned as to how it will react…" he didn't finish his sentence, instead he shuddered. His wings fluttered and dust clouded around him. Ianto sneezed and the small creature sneezed as well. Suzie and Tosh blinked as the spider-like creature suddenly chittered at them and then jumped from Ianto's back to the nearest box. Another sneeze and it scuttled over the boxes and back into the archives, leaving them all staring after it.

"Well…" Suzie started. "I wonder how long they've been in there."

Ianto shook himself again and more dust fell around him. "I'm more worried about how many of them there are and how easy they'll be to catch," he said.

"You could keep them as pets," Tosh suggested and Suzie and Ianto stared at her. "It looked kinda mouse-like with those ears," she added.

"I doubt it eats cheese. It probably tolerates the spiders and eats everything else. Which would explain why there are no other bugs or things down there," he said as he looked at his filthy clothes. "I'm going to clean up."

"Okay," Suzie nodded. "Good idea. There's a truck with stuff from London due in about half an hour. You'll have to stay out of the way – you can't be seen, but can you have coffee ready for when they're done?"

Ianto nodded. "What about what they're bringing?"

"We'll help them unload it. There are several empty rooms we can store it all in."

"The Archives aren't in any state to receive them anyway," Ianto noted.

"Jack said we weren't to touch any of it once it was stored," Tosh added.

"Really?" Ianto frowned.

"Yes, he said there's some very dangerous items in there and only he knows the proper containment for them."

"Anything identified as dangerous would already be in its own containment box," he mused. "It's standard procedure."

"Maybe these are items that haven't been identified yet. Jack knows more than anyone else about alien tech," Tosh said. "It's really amazing how much he knows."

"He knows nothing about archiving," Ianto remarked and Tosh gave a small gurgle of laughter. Ianto frowned at her and shook his head. "No, if he knows so much about the tech and artefacts and their containment then he should have some understanding of filing them away properly, but… but those archives don't seem to have been touched since the turn of the century. That's over six years ago. Hasn't _anyone_ done _any_ archiving at all?"

"No," Suzie shook her head. "I've been here the longest, apart from Jack and I've never done anything in there."

"I've been here two years now and I've never known anyone to do any serious archiving," Tosh added and Ianto sighed before straightening his shoulders.

"Well, I'm going to need to set up a few things before I can get really started and it's going to take a while but I will get them organised properly," he said determinedly.

"Go and clean up and when the truck's gone, we'll sit down and help you get started," Suzie replied.

"Thank you," he smiled.

"Just don't ask me to look after your pets," she added with a grin and Ianto sighed.

"They're not pets and they're not mine," he said as he turned to leave the room. They watched him go with dust misting around him with each step and webs waving like thin streamers from his wings.

"What's that character in Charlie Brown who looked like a walking dirt pile?" Suzie queried in a distracted manner.

Tosh frowned. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever read Charlie Brown."

Suzie shrugged. "It's in one of those tabloids that Owen says he never reads. Ianto just reminded me of him. He looks like a walking dust cloud."

Tosh giggled. "We'd probably not say anything to him though."

"Or to Owen," Suzie added with a grin.

"I wonder what would happen if Owen saw one of those spidery things," Tosh remarked thoughtfully.

"Probably nothing," Suzie replied. "But _Jack_ does have that hatred of spiders, remember."

"Oh, yes," Tosh almost purred and their eyes met.

"Let's make sure Ianto doesn't get rid of them before Jack returns," Suzie said.

* * *

Ianto was much cleaner when Suzie watched him make the coffee for the men from London. Toshiko was overseeing the last boxes to be unloaded. Ianto placed two cups on a tray and looked startled when Suzie dropped a small tablet into each cup.

"Retcon," she told him as she stirred the coffees to dissolve the tablets.

"Why? Aren't they from Torchwood?"

"Nope, from UNIT and Jack doesn't want them remembering what the inside of the hub looks like."

"They didn't really see anything," Ianto remarked.

"I know, we made sure of that. This is a very mild dose and they'll remember that they delivered to us, they just won't remember where we are."

Ianto didn't quite shrug. His back and ribs were aching a bit too much not helped by his brief exploration of the archives, but it sounded as if the Captain was as paranoid as Yvonne Hartman had been. There had often been small squabbles over retrievals with UNIT teams and memos had appeared with depressing regularity warning of talking to or even seeing anyone from UNIT. Ianto was fully prepared to be as paranoid as everyone else but for more selfish reasons. He had no wish to become a test subject again.

"Do you retcon everyone who comes here?"

"No, but then we rarely get visitors here. Jack only attends meetings that are held at other bases."

Ianto nodded. He'd never heard of anyone from One ever visiting Three. "He visited One sometimes. The gossip lasted for months afterwards," Ianto said with a small smile that disappeared as he realised that there was no One anymore.

Suzie gathered up the coffee. She and Tosh had been deliberately avoiding bringing up the Tower in conversation. It was clear that Ianto was also avoiding mentioning it as well and they didn't blame him. So she nudged him gently with an elbow in a sign of sympathy and gave him a gentle smile before walking away.

Ianto absently wiped the coffee machine. He was grateful Suzie hadn't said anything but he wondered if that was the wisest course. It was easy to not think about London while his back and ribs ached, while he was far away and to all intents trapped under Cardiff. It was easy when no-one spoke of it and he didn't ask. He knew Toshiko had spoken to the Captain. Owen had called as well. Ianto knew there was information to be had, news that would be bad or worse because he knew there would be no good news. He wouldn't have to ask the women, he could probably access it online. But he didn't want to know. Not yet. Not until his wings no longer dragged on the ground, not until he could breathe deeply without his ribs protesting and not until he knew he would be able to listen and not break down.

* * *

"You're looking tired, Ianto" Toshiko said two days later as they sat around the old couch eating lunch.

"I'm feeling much better," he protested.

"That's not what she said," Suzie pointed out. "And she's right. You've been working too hard."

"I'm not working too hard. I'm taking care of myself. I sort out files and papers. I don't move boxes or anything too heavy. The Archives is a real mess, I have to start on it," Ianto replied defensively.

"We know that, Ianto, but you're in there all day. We only see you for coffee and meals." Suzie studied him for a moment. "Starting now, you can't do any more in the archives today." Ianto opened his mouth to protest and Suzie lifted her hand to stop him. "This afternoon you can work with Tosh and start learning how our systems and programs work. We've been lucky and the weevils and the Rift have been quiet, but with just us here we need to be prepared in case something happens. It'll be another week before Jack and Owen are back so we need you to be able to help us. We need you on the team."

"Toshiko showed me the system the other day," he said. "And I used the tracking program when you went after that weevil."

"That was just the Archive area, Ianto, and the tracking program is just the start of it," Tosh told him. "There are a lot more you'll need to know."

Ianto chewed at his bottom lip for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

"Good," Suzie said with a nod to Tosh before they both smiled happily at him.

Ianto got the impression that he had just been set up but they seemed genuinely concerned for him so he said nothing. He wasn't used to having people care about his well-being unless they were about to start a new round of tests and he was startled to realise that they were considering him as part of their team. He hadn't thought that he'd ever be part of a team again. They didn't see him as the support he had been thinking he could be, but as a team member and Ianto felt obscurely guilty. Had Scotty ever wanted to be considered as part of the team? There had been a clear demarcation line between teams and support at One but there had been so many of them. It was obviously different here in Cardiff with so few people and Ianto couldn't help but wonder.

"I'll introduce you to Mainframe," Tosh said and Ianto looked confused.

"Mainframe? Who is that?" He thought he'd met all the members of Three.

"Mainframe is our computer. All our systems and programs, everything is linked through her. In many ways she _is_ the Hub. She ensures everything works as it should and she's intuitive. She'll be second-guessing any changes you want to put into the Archival system. She's usually a step ahead of the rest of us."

"The computer is alive?" Ianto asked slowly.

"Yes, kind of. The records say she's been here as long as Torchwood has. A piece of organic tech that probably fell through the rift and was able to survive here. She has an artificial intelligence but it's so advanced that she seems very much alive. Being organic she grows and spreads and learns and develops much as any other living thing."

Ianto blinked. "I look forward to meeting her," was all he could think of to say. But after spending two days sorting out files amidst alien spiders and sentient dust he didn't think he'd have too many problems. And it was yet another reminder that Torchwood Three was nothing like One.

* * *

The need to feel something familiar led to Ianto appearing in the Hub wearing a three piece suit that completely stunned Toshiko and Suzie. In the seven days since he'd arrived in Cardiff he'd worn casual clothing and they were accustomed to seeing him in jeans. They hadn't realised that he even owned a suit.

"Where did you get that from, Ianto?" Suzie asked as she watched him cross the floor. The tailored suit gave him a sudden elegance and made him look older than he was. The black of his suit was almost the same shade as his wings. He moved smoothly with a sure confidence to the coffee machine with the merest whisper of fine material and feathers.

"The suit?" Ianto asked as he started the machine. "It's mine. It's what I… I wore in London. We all did."

"You don't have to wear it here," Suzie told him cautiously.

"I know." He studied the coffee machine for a moment before he met her eyes. "But I want to. I work here now and this is what I'm used to wearing when I'm working." He had wanted the comfort of normal clothes now that he was feeling more normal and almost pain-free. His wings no longer dragged on the ground although they still sat lower than was normal. His bruises had faded into the green and yellows of age and no longer hurt when he poked them. His muscles didn't spasm and while he still moved slower than he wanted to, he could move easily if he was careful. His ribs were still healing but the bone deep aching was muted, like background noise that only became loud when you concentrated on it. Putting his suit back on helped him feel more secure in his place here.

Suzie didn't think Ianto was being completely honest with her but she didn't ask further. Whatever his deeper reasons were, they were his and she had to be honest with herself and admit that she liked the look of this suited, more confident Ianto Jones.

"I like it," Toshiko spoke up, her eyes still scanning the slender Welshman. "It looks so smart." Suzie snorted lightly with good humour.

"Oh yes, it certainly _suits_ you," she said with just enough emphasis that had Tosh giggling and Ianto flushing.

"You look so efficient," Tosh added and Ianto's blush deepened. He hadn't thought wearing his suit would have invited such comments. Suzie and Toshiko were always neatly dressed. Nothing frilly or overly casual. Unobtrusively elegant and deceptively simple, they exuded a business-like competence. He tried to recall what the Captain and the doctor had been wearing and found that he only had vague recollections of the doctor's stained white coat and the Captain's greatcoat. But he didn't think either had been clothed so inappropriately that his suit would seem so remarkable.

"But it's going to get so dirty in the Archives," Tosh remarked.

"It's washable," Ianto said dryly, well-used to having to care for his suits. The alterations to accommodate his wings meant Ianto had been doing his own washing and any mending required. It wasn't possible to send them out for dry-cleaning. "But I do need to find an iron."

"We'll get one," Tosh replied. "And maybe some more clothes as well," she added hesitantly. "I mean, all you have barely filled a box. You should have more than that."

Ianto shook his head. "No, it's okay. I have enough."

"How many shirts do you have?" Suzie demanded.

"Three, but that's all I …" Ianto began.

"Buy another three tomorrow, Tosh," Suzie ordered. "What's your size, Ianto?"

"I don't need…" Ianto tried again.

"Of course you do, Ianto. Three shirts aren't enough at all," Suzie told him in no uncertain terms.

"But they'll need altering and …"

"I can help with that," Toshiko spoke quietly. "I can sew."

"So can I," Suzie said. "Who did your original alterations, Ianto?"

"There was a tailor. He was a … retired agent. He got called in to organise clothes for anyone that needed specialised clothing," Ianto said haltingly. Toshiko and Suzie stared at him and he felt obliged to continue. "There wasn't just me, there were other aliens that sometimes needed clothing." He didn't add that they'd never needed it for too long. Aliens had very short life spans at One.

"I wonder if we could approach this tailor," Toshiko said thoughtfully.

"I… He worked out of the Tower. He would … he would have been there …last Sunday," Ianto said as calmly as he could.

"I'm sorry," Tosh said immediately with a rueful grimace.

Ianto shook his head. "It's ok." He pulled at his jacket sleeve, tugging it down over his left wrist. "I can do the alterations as well. Used to have a tailor in the family," he added with a hard edge that had the women exchanging glances.

"You'll need a wardrobe," Suzie said abruptly before an uncomfortable silence could appear.

"And a proper bed," Tosh added hurriedly. "Jack said we could get one for you."

"There's that old Ikea catalogue near the couch. You can leaf through that and see what you'd like," Suzie told him and he blinked.

"You have an Ikea catalogue? Ikea is in Cardiff?" Ianto was startled.

"Yes," Suzie nodded as she went to the small table in front of the couch. She reached under it and quickly sorted through the old magazines beneath it. "Opened a few years back. Didn't you know?"

"No," Ianto said slowly with a small shrug. "Once I left Wales, I never came back here."

She waved a thick book at him. "This is a couple of years old, but it should give us a guide as to what you want."

"Isn't that Owen's?" Tosh asked as Suzie returned to the desks with the catalogue.

"Yes," Suzie said as she gave it to Ianto. "Owen brought it in one time when he was setting up his flat. It hasn't been used since."

"I remember that. It never got used at all," Tosh gave a giggle and Suzie snorted.

"Well it was his fault," Suzie said dismissively.

Ianto looked from one to the other and Tosh took pity on his confusion.

"Owen brought it in and asked Suzie which bed she'd prefer to be shagged on. Suzie took the book and threw it at him," Tosh told him with a small pink line across her cheeks. "Told him he had no class and that she wouldn't be shagging him anywhere near a flat pack bed. Jack didn't stop laughing for an hour and then he went and mailed the catalogue to Owen two days later." Tosh giggled.

Suzie laughed. "Owen was furious."

"And a week later there was that incursion of alien bed bugs," Tosh recalled happily.

"Alien bed bugs?" Ianto's eyebrow rose.

"Well, they weren't technically bed bugs, they were more a cross between a flea and a cockroach but they'd infested several rooms and the beds at the Sandringham Hotel. Jack made Owen collect every one of them. It took two days to get them all."

The two women laughed together and Ianto smiled. He liked this easy teasing. He couldn't imagine it ever happening in London. Not outside his team anyway. Obviously having a small team had brought the members of Cardiff a lot closer to each other. He wondered if they held secrets from each other or whether the need had long passed. His team had been open enough amongst themselves but being Torchwood there was always something held back. And Ianto wondered if their refusal or reluctance to approach him and ask about his past meant that either they were being considerate, or that they were merely biding their time until the Captain returned. Ianto was under no illusions that once the questions started, they wouldn't stop until they knew everything about him. He was too used to London to feel surprised or bitter at that thought.

"I'm more than happy to have a flat pack bed," he said lightly to distract himself from his thought as he flicked through the pages. "But I would like it bug free."

"The only bugs now are those spidery mice things of yours," Suzie remarked and Ianto sighed with a hidden smile. They hadn't stopped attributing ownership of the little creatures to him.

"They're not mine," he said in exaggerated long-suffering tones and they laughed at him. He smiled, almost ruefully and wondered if he'd spend the rest of his life denying ownership. Probably, he thought, and he didn't really mind. The little animals were quiet and he'd only caught a few glimpses of them since that first sighting. They seemed harmless enough though and he assumed they lived deeper in the archives where he hadn't ventured yet.

"I'm just thankful Ikea don't have a pet section," he muttered as they laughed again.

* * *

"There's a shipment from London due this afternoon and another two tomorrow. Jack says there maybe one more after that but he's not sure," Suzie announced at lunch three days later.

"We've had six deliveries so far. We're going to have to open rooms on the next level down to store this new stuff," Toshiko remarked.

"We'll do that after lunch. Ianto, can you have the coffees ready again please?"

"Of course," Ianto nodded. He was used to the routine now and for the last two occasions Suzie had entrusted the retconning of the drinks to him. He felt rather useless when the deliveries arrived and he couldn't help with the unloading. He wished he could help but then they'd have to up the dose of the retcon and having to explain why two UNIT drivers had suddenly lost eight hours of their time would be more than awkward.

"We haven't used much while the guys have been gone, but if you could do a quick inventory, Tosh. Ianto can help you." Suzie looked at Ianto. "You need a break from the Archives. You've been overdoing it again. No arguments," she said before he could say anything.

Ianto gave a wry smile. Suzie was a good Second. She was always mindful of him and Tosh. She would have made a good team leader he thought.

"No arguments," he agreed before tugging at his left sleeve. "I will need some assistance shifting a couple of boxes in the Archives." He caught Suzie's stern look. "Tomorrow," he added placatingly.

Suzie nodded with a quick smile. "Tomorrow we'll both help." She was glad that he was still taking care with his injuries. To her eyes he appeared completely healed, but he no longer needed their assistance to dress or to apply cream so they didn't know for sure. And those suits he now appeared in hid any lingering bruises. It had only been nearly two weeks since London and Owen had said it would take at least three weeks for Ianto to heal fully. The most obvious sign of Ianto's increasing good health had been the height of his wings. Both she and Tosh had noticed that they had gradually risen higher up his back and no longer hung so low. Today she could see the joints of his wings appearing over his shoulders. It was the highest they'd been so far.

She was rather pleased and impressed that he'd settled into the Hub so easily and she wondered if he felt as comfortable as he appeared. Suzie was well aware that having just herself and Tosh here had made it much easier for Ianto than having them all here. But there was no doubt in her mind that once Owen and especially Jack returned the young man was going to have his life turned around yet again. It was going to be very interesting indeed. Suzie smiled.

"Also, Jack said he and Owen will be back on Saturday."

...

* * *

…

* * *

Reference:

JIC (Joint IntelligenceCommittee) is the part of the British Cabinet Office responsible for directing the national intelligence organisations of the United Kingdom on behalf of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and providing advice to the Cabinet related to security, defence and foreign affairs. It oversees the setting of priorities for the three intelligence and security agencies (Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service, GCHQ), as well as Defence Intelligence, and establishes professional standards for intelligence analysis in government. _(from Wikipedia)_

And of course you all knew that it was Pigpen who Suzie is referring to... ~smiles~…

Ikea opened in Grangetown, Cardiff in November 2003.

Author's notes: My apologies for the long gap between chapters and fics... real life has been interesting to say the least... but here is the last part of this episode... I have no idea what title the next chapters will have but it will have Jack and Owen back and Ianto settling more into Three...

silken :)


	7. Torchwood Three part 1

**Working Title: The Torchwood Canary**

**Episode Title:** **Torchwood Three**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own, nor ever will, Torchwood or the characters within.  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Warnings:** Language  
**Pairing:** Jack/Ianto  
**Notes:** A series of interconnected episodes starting from Canary Wharf and leading into Season 1 and probably beyond

**Summary:** Captain Jack Harkness returns from the ruins of Canary Wharf and Ianto Jones settles into life at Torchwood Three. Follows on from After The Battle and Cardiff.

* * *

**Torchwood Three – Part 1**

Captain Jack Harkness pulled into the underground parking area of Torchwood Three and brought the SUV to a gentle stop. He looked out the window at featureless concrete walls and pillars. Home at last, he let his breath out with a small smile. He felt better already and he hadn't even gotten out of the vehicle. It had been the longest two weeks Jack could remember surviving in a very long while and certainly not one he ever wanted to repeat. The mess created by Torchwood One was beyond nightmares and for the last few days all he had wanted was to get out of London and back to Cardiff. Back to home.

He reached over and poked his sleeping passenger. Owen Harper didn't move so Jack poked harder. The doctor had crashed before they'd gone a few miles and Jack had not been surprised. Owen had been long working hours trying to save as many as he could. Jack knew how Owen felt about survivors so he had readily agreed to any and all of the doctor's plans for support and counselling, although Owen had managed to browbeat just about every bureaucrat, politician or General into agreeing with him all by himself.

Jack poked the doctor again. "Wakey-wakey Owen, we're home," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Fuck off, Harkness," Owen grunted, mostly asleep and tried to roll over only to get caught in his seatbelt. He woke up properly as the strap threatened to strangle him and he struggled to pull himself upright in the seat. Jack chuckled lightly and Owen glared as best he could through a wide yawn.

"Come on Doctor Harper, let's go see the girls and then you can go home and sleep some more," Jack said as he opened his door and stepped out. He stretched for a moment before reaching into the back to grab his bag.

"What about the rest of the stuff?" Owen asked as he pulled his own bag out and looked at the boxes stacked in the back.

"I'll get them later. Let's get ourselves in first." Jack locked the SUV and headed towards the door to Torchwood. "They would have seen us arrive and no doubt they'll be waiting for us."

"Hope Suzie's got the coffee ready," Owen said with another yawn. "And food too. I missed lunch," he added as he followed Jack through the door and into Torchwood Three.

"You needed the sleep," Jack commented as they walked through the cool passages. Owen shrugged. He knew that. He also knew he needed a lot more and that he probably wouldn't be getting it any time soon.

"I could say the same to you," he remarked.

"Later," Jack replied dismissively. Owen nearly smiled. He hadn't expected any other answer. They all knew they were supposed to catch up on their sleep whenever they could and they all knew they never did.

"Suzie said there were a couple of weevils needing autopsies," Owen said, ignoring his own sleep needs and thinking ahead to what he had to do now he was back. "And I need to check over the birdman."

Jack smiled at the thought of the winged man. He'd only spoken to him once on the phone since he'd left him in the Hub two weeks ago. The Welshman had been polite and not too flustered by Jack's flirting. Jack had kept it light not knowing how the young man was coping with the events of Canary Wharf. Toshiko and Suzie had both said he'd been settling in well, but even after that first meeting Jack knew Ianto Jones was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. It would be fun he thought to find out exactly what made the man tick. It wasn't just the wings that piqued Jack's interest. It was the calm, almost stoic impression the Welshman had demonstrated when everything had been falling down around him. For the second time Jack reminded himself.

"That can wait until tomorrow. There's no hurry." Jack paused. "Unless you think he needs it before we tell everyone about One?" he queried. "Suzie and Tosh are going to want to know."

Owen let his breath out noisily. "Yep, and we can't really exclude him from knowing. He probably already knows the worst from what we've told the girls so far. I don't think the details are going to make it any worse."

"Not any easier though," Jack pointed out.

"We'll just keep an eye on him. The moment he looks peaky, we'll stop. We don't have to tell them everything and we sure as hell don't need to do it all in one go." Owen shook his head. "Going to be hard enough to actually talk about it anyway," he muttered.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. He'd been less than forthcoming about what they'd found in London when he'd rung to check on his team, but he hadn't been able to keep them from learning some of what had happened. Now he was back though, they'd want to know more.

"You can do all the talking," Owen said.

"Gee, thanks," Jack replied flatly.

"We all know how much you love to talk," Owen responded with light sarcasm.

"And I know how much you love writing up reports," Jack threatened casually. Owen shrugged at the empty threat and felt better at having lightened the mood.

"I really want coffee," he stated loudly as he took the last few steps leading to the main hub.

"You're in luck, Owen. Ianto's just made some." Suzie's unexpected reply made Owen trip over the last step in surprise.

"Ah," Jack's soft exhalation had Owen looking at him curiously. He followed the Captain's gaze and blinked.

Ianto Jones, birdman and ex-Torchwood One prisoner, was standing just outside the kitchenette area holding a laden silver tray and wearing a suit. A surprisingly well-fitted three piece suit Owen noted.

"_Love_ the suit," Jack said with obvious appreciation as he headed straight to Ianto with very bright eyes and a wide smile. Ianto took a step back at the Captain's exuberant approach but gamely offered the tray.

"Coffee, Captain?"

Jack took the proffered cup keeping his eyes on Ianto. The young man looked gorgeous in his tailored suit with the dark wings settled at his back. He looked healthy too, Jack noted as he gazed at the pale blush highlighting the Welshman's cheek bones. He was too intent on studying Ianto's face to notice Owen elbow his way past and grab a cup.

"Oh, now _that_ is coffee." Owen's voice broke Jack from his staring and he took a distracted mouthful from his own cup. He blinked as the strong, rich blend assaulted his tongue.

"Oh yeah," he breathed as he took another taste and then a deep breath of the aromatic steam. "This is perfect. Marry me, Ianto Jones." He grinned widely at the startled man.

Suzie and Toshiko stifled laughs and Owen scoffed as Ianto looked around for some help or an escape route. It wasn't forthcoming as the others simply smiled back at him. He took a deep breath and met the Captain's highly amused blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sir but I believe a person should bring more than coffee making skills to a life-long commitment."

Toshiko clapped a hand over her mouth and Suzie let out a most unlady-like guffaw. Owen rolled his eyes.

"And I believe that with this coffee and that suit you have all the skills necessary," Jack replied, his grin never flagging.

"How indiscriminate of you Captain. I'm sorry but I feel we just don't know each other well enough for me to be able to accept your proposal." Ianto tried to look as sincere as he could but it wasn't fooling the others and he could feel his blush deepening. Suzie and Tosh choked on their laughter.

"I've never been called indiscriminate before," Jack mused, smiling at the bemused Ianto.

"Not to your face perhaps, "Owen muttered loud enough for Jack to hear and mock-glare at him. Owen smirked back. Jack glared for a moment longer before turning back to Ianto.

"I'm sure we'll get to know each other more than well enough," he leered in an overly friendly manner.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ianto sighed with a rustle of his wings. "I believe in long engagements."

Jack shrugged smoothly. "I can do long." The others groaned. "I can also do short if you get tired of waiting," he added with a helpful manner.

"I'm sure I can be patient Sir," Ianto replied blandly, wondering just how badly he was blushing.

"Welcome back Jack," Suzie said with a smile as she decided to save Ianto from further embarrassment.

"Thank you," Jack said to her well aware of what she was doing and willing to go along with it for now. There would be time enough later for more flirting with the delectable Welshman. "It's good to be home again."

"It's good to have you back," Tosh told him. "We missed you." Jack stepped over to her and swept her into a big hug before moving to Suzie and hugging her with a more restrained movement. He knew she didn't like to be touched too much.

"Well, it looks like you've more than managed with us not here," Jack said approvingly.

"You haven't read the reports yet," Suzie pointed out.

"The Hub's still standing," Jack replied. "That's good enough for me." He looked around. "Actually it looks _cleaner _than it did." He frowned slightly. "And tidier."

"That would be Ianto's doing," Suzie said with a smile at the young man.

"Really?" Jack looked at the winged man.

"Yes," Suzie replied. "When he's not been working in the archives, he's been helping out here."

"He was supposed to be on light duties at the most," Owen said with a frown.

"We knew that, Owen. We kept an eye on him and didn't let him do too much," Tosh interjected.

"He is standing right here," Ianto muttered.

"_He_ will do better to follow doctor's orders in future," Owen snapped at him with a glare. "Down to autopsy now, birdman."

"I feel fine," Ianto told him. "Suzie and Tosh have been most careful of my recovery."

"I'm sure they have. However I'm the doctor here and I am the one best qualified to judge that."

"Owen, it can wait til tomorrow," Jack interrupted, reminding him of their earlier conversation. Owen scowled and nodded reluctantly before turning on Ianto.

"Tomorrow morning at nine sharp. With _all_ your records for a _complete _checkup," Owen said firmly.

"Umm, we don't have all his records," Tosh said hesitantly.

"Yes, we do," Owen said. "One whole filing cabinet's worth I believe. It would be easier if it was on the computers but hard copy is just as good."

"What filing cabinet?" Tosh asked.

"It came down with all the other stuff," Jack said keeping an eye on Ianto. "We sealed it up and sent it here."

"Is that why there's no record in the database?" Tosh questioned with an apologetic look towards Ianto.

"No, the records are there as well," Ianto replied in a resigned voice. He'd known they'd be wanting to go over his records. He knew that Tosh at least had looked for them in the recovered data from One. But she hadn't asked and he hadn't said, content to be left alone for the while. He had not expected to have the doctor insist on his medical checks this soon after returning. He'd thought he'd have a few days grace at least.

"I couldn't find them," Tosh said diffidently, wary of causing any offense.

Ianto shook his head giving her a small smile of reassurance. "They're buried rather deeply. Ms Hartman didn't want anyone to be able to find them without her express permission." His eyes were blank for a moment. "A lot of files are hidden like that."

"The others on your team?" Jack asked softly and Ianto nodded. He blinked and his eyes were clear again.

"All of us living in the sub-levels had our files hidden."

"I saw a hell of a lot of security measures in the Tower. Hartman was one paranoid bitch." There was no question in Owen's tone but Ianto responded as if there had been one there.

"Yes she was. Always worried that someone would interfere with her work. One is…_ was_ her empire and she did everything she could to protect it."

"They must be very well hidden. I haven't been able to find them," Tosh said with reluctant admiration. "She certainly had good programmers there."

"A lot of alien technology was used in the system," Ianto said. One shoulder lifted and fell in a half-shrug and soft rustle of feathers. "And she wanted no traces left for anyone to find. We all knew our records would disappear as well."

"As well as what?" Tosh asked.

"As well as us," Ianto said matter-of-factly.

There was a heavy silence and Ianto was startled at the wide-eyed stares he was getting. He had thought they had all understood what being detained by Torchwood One had meant but Tosh and Suzie appeared frozen and Owen's jaw had dropped. And the barely suppressed anger on the Captain's face had him taking a few steps back, tray raised in front of him as if for protection.

"But…" Tosh tried to voice a protest. "You… they… they wouldn't have." Her voice fell flat as Ianto met her horrified eyes.

"Yes, they would. They did," he said gently. "We were dead to the outside world from the moment we were placed in the sub-levels."

"You can't have just _accepted _that?" Tosh struggled against Ianto's apparent calm manner.

"It's not as if we had a choice," Ianto told her as if that would make it easier for her to understand. "What happened to us wasn't something they could allow many people to know about. When… when the others died everything was already done because we were already listed as being dead."

Tosh shook her head. "It's wrong!" she said in a strained tone. "I… its _wrong_."

Jack wrapped his arms around her and looked meaningfully at the others. Suzie placed a hand on Ianto's arm and nodded at Jack. She pulled Ianto away and Owen followed them. Suzie led them down to the autopsy bay before she let go.

"Not quite the homecoming I'd planned on," Owen said as he moved through his domain. Suzie sat on the steps and Ianto just looked from one to the other still confused.

"Less alcohol and sex than you expected?" Suzie asked with a knowing grin.

"Much less," Owen agreed. "I did get coffee although I was banking on some food too." He saluted lazily at Ianto. "Good coffee too, birdman. Didn't think we had anything like that here."

"You didn't," Ianto replied with a quick look up the stairs. He could hear the Captain murmuring but couldn't make out the words. Tosh's reaction puzzled him. While she had always seemed more tentative than Suzie whenever his detainment at One came up he hadn't thought she'd been this affected by it.

"He got that old machine to work," Suzie added. "We had to get special beans for it."

"Really?" Owen looked at them. "Well it's worth it. None of us would get anything done without coffee." He looked pointedly at Ianto. "Make sure it stays this good." Ianto rolled his eyes in response.

"When Jack's finished up there, we'll order in some dinner and you can tell us all about London," Suzie remarked.

"Not much to tell," Owen said immediately and Suzie gave him a look of disbelief.

"You and Jack were both very tight-lipped while you were gone, Owen." Her eyes narrowed. "Just how bad was it?"

Owen looked away for a moment before meeting their eyes. "It was bad. Very bad," he told them sombrely before looking away. Ianto chewed at his bottom lip and saw Suzie flick a glance at him. He took a breath.

"How many survived?" he asked slowly.

"Twenty-seven are still alive." Owen saw the colour leave Ianto's face and moved quickly to seat him on a stool.

"Twenty-seven?" Ianto repeated sounding as if he would faint at any moment. Owen placed a hand around the Welshman's wrist and felt the racing pulse.

"That's not many," Suzie said in a hushed voice.

"There's still about a hundred unaccounted for that could suddenly turn up," Owen said.

"But you don't expect that, do you?" Suzie asked.

Owen shook his head. "No." He studied Ianto for a moment. "You okay birdman?"

Ianto moved his head in an unsure movement somewhere between a nod and a shake. "I knew it was bad, but twenty-seven? There were over eight hundred of us. That can't be right." He almost pleaded with Owen.

"It is right." Owen let his breath out. "And I don't know how many of those twenty-seven will still be alive a month from now."

"Why?" Suzie asked.

"Post-traumatic stress. Survivors often suffer from depression or suicide. They'll be given counselling and I won't be surprised if they all ask for retcon as well." Owen shook Ianto's wrist and stared hard at the pale man. "Don't think you get to miss out either. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"I don't need counselling," Ianto protested. "And you and I both know you can't offer me retcon. I can't be relocated."

"I am aware of that, and I'm not a counsellor," Owen told him. "I am however, as I keep telling you, a doctor, so if I see any signs of PTSD in you we'll figure out how best to treat it then. Did you have counselling after you got your wings?"

"Yes. One has… had comprehensive procedures in place for anyone caught in a tech incident," Ianto said calmly.

Owen narrowed his eyes. "But was it proper counselling or did they just ask lots of questions and do nothing afterwards?"

"There really wasn't much they could do with me afterwards," Ianto replied without actually answering the question and Owen shook his head.

"Wrong answer," Owen said. "There is always something that can be done." He frowned at Ianto suddenly struck by a thought. "You don't need to keep protecting them you know."

Ianto blinked, leaning away from the doctor with a startled rustle of feathers as his wings shifted closer to his back. "I'm not," he denied with only a small hitch to his breathing.

"Yes you are," Owen contradicted him. "I won't call you on it yet, but you need to realise that you're part of Torchwood Three now, not One. And we do things very differently here."

"I think he knows that Owen, "Suzie said. "At least where it concerns the Archives." She grinned as Ianto gave a small groan in response. Several times he had only just stopped himself from ranting madly about the deplorable state of the Archives, but enough had slipped out that Tosh and Suzie often good-naturedly baited him into saying more than he meant to.

"They're a mess," Ianto stated, refusing to be drawn this time.

"I didn't even know we had any," Owen reminded him with a shrug. "Anyway, you start feeling twitchy or your feathers start falling out, you come see me," he ordered.

"What?" Ianto asked in complete confusion.

"Stress can cause birds to moult," Owen explained with a smug look. "We'll just watch your feathers."

"I'll volunteer for that," Jack called as he appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Any excuse," Owen replied.

"I don't need an excuse," Jack replied as he almost bounded down the stairs. "And I'm always willing to make one up if I have to." He paused in front of Ianto. "But it's good to know I don't have to do that this time," he leered while his sharp eyes took in the younger man's pallor. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Ianto replied at the same time as Owen spoke. "He's had a bit of a shock, but he'll be fine."

"Shock?" Jack looked from Ianto to Owen who gave a tiny shake of his head.

"Nothing serious," he said.

"We need to get some dinner ordered then you and Owen can tell us about London," Suzie told him in a manner which had Jack realising that something had been said and more needed saying.

"Ah." Jack caught Owen's slight nod. "Actually Tosh is ordering for us now," he said without looking at her. He turned back to Ianto. "Perhaps, if you don't mind we could have some more of that wonderful coffee of yours as well."

"Of course," Ianto said as he stood up. He appeared steady on his feet.

"Bring it to the boardroom. We'll eat there too," Jack added as he moved to watch Ianto and Suzie climb the stairs and return to the main Hub. He waited a few moments and then looked at Owen with a querying expression.

"He asked how many had survived. He was just a bit upset over the numbers," Owen replied and Jack sighed.

"Not the best set of numbers I've ever heard either," Jack commented.

"He might want to see a list of the survivors later," Owen said thoughtfully.

"Do you think that's wise? There's a chance that he may know some of them."

"And an equal chance he won't. Either way would be traumatic for him but I think he'll need for it some closure."

Jack nodded. "Only if he asks. If he doesn't ask, we don't offer."

"He could find out from the database on his own," Owen pointed out.

"I'll get Tosh to put a monitoring program on his computer usage. If he starts looking then we can be ready to deal with his reaction."

"You're not going to stop him?" Owen asked.

"No." Jack gave a small shake of his head and headed towards the stairs. "Besides I think he'll ask and it won't be necessary."

Owen rolled his eyes at the Captain's confident manner and followed.

* * *

Tosh had ordered Thai and it sat in various containers and trays on the boardroom table. Owen filled a large plate as did the Captain while the others were more modest with their servings. Owen started on his hungrily and Jack wasn't far behind him. Suzie ate with more decorum while Tosh and Ianto only picked at their food. Owen stared as Ianto tucked a napkin under his neck but decided now was not the time to tease him about it.

"You said you'd tell us about London, Jack," Suzie broke the silence after a few mouthfuls.

"I know and I will," Jack replied with a swallow. "First thing is that what happened will never happen again. Torchwood London will never reopen and there's every probability that the building will be razed to the ground."

"It didn't look that damaged," Suzie remarked.

"Not on the outside but the internal structure seems to have been compromised. Blast and fire damage was rather extensive. And even if the engineers say the building is viable and repairable I don't think anyone would ever want to work there again." He could see Ianto's shudder out of the corner of his eye.

"The story of hallucinogenics in the water might explain away the ghost shifts but while the Tower still stands people are going to find it hard to completely believe that. And that's without the conspiracists. We'll need to keep a close eye on them for the next year or so. Tosh, can you expand the monitoring systems for that?"

Tosh nodded. "Of course."

"UNIT and the other agencies are going to do the same so you can link to them but make sure they can't access anything else of ours." Jack smirked. "But don't let that stop you from looking through their systems," he added and Tosh smiled.

"I already have ways into their systems but I'll make sure this comes nowhere near them."

"Good girl," Jack approved. "Okay, most of the artifacts from London have been removed now. What's left will be going to UNIT. I've sent some to Torchwood Two and there's a warehouse full of the larger stuff that we'll have to sort out at a later date. All the data has been sent to our Mainframe and London's mainframe has been destroyed. No-one except us can access what was there."

"None of London's hardware could be salvaged?" Tosh asked looking almost pained.

"Not much of it, Tosh," Jack said. "And there was no way of moving the mainframe out of there."

"It was never meant to be moved," Ianto said softly. "Torchwood One was meant to stand forever." He blinked and continued in a more normal manner. "The whole building was wired into the computer systems. And everything else, artifacts, equipment, personnel, information, everything was linked through it as well."

Tosh looked at Ianto. "Everything?"

"Yes." Ianto nodded.

"One was rather paranoid," Jack said. "Along with their greed and their delusions of grandeur."

"Not all of One was like that, surely?" Tosh asked with a quick glance to Ianto.

"Most of the upper echelons were," Jack replied with a shrug. "One had an active indoctrination regime in place to make sure people followed the company line as well."

"We were always told how much more important than UNIT or the other Torchwood branches we were," Ianto offered as he picked at some chicken. "We had rules and procedures for everything. No-one really questioned because they didn't leave anything for anyone to question."

"But you're not like them," Tosh said with a frown.

"Not so much anymore, no. But I've had two years to see them from a different side," Ianto pointed out.

"And it's still ingrained enough that Ianto doesn't question his imprisonment as much as someone else would," Jack told her before he turned to Ianto. "Do you blame One for what happened?"

Ianto looked puzzled. "For my wings or for… two weeks ago?"

"Either."

"I can't really blame them for my wings. That wasn't anyone's fault." He paused in thought. "But I do blame them for two weeks ago. They should have been more careful and cautious." He wondered if he should feel any discomfort or shame with the way the conversation was going but he mentally shrugged the concern away. He'd been through enough to outgrow any embarrassment his situation might bring him.

"They shouldn't have been playing with things they didn't understand in the first place," Jack said with rough abruptness.

"But what about your imprisonment?" Tosh asked Ianto with several rapid blinks. "Don't you blame them for locking you up?"

"No," Ianto shook his head and met her gaze calmly. There had been the faintest edge to her voice, almost as if she was pleading with him to be upset by it. "They could have killed me when the others died. They didn't have to keep me alive and it wasn't as if I could ever return to the outside world. It might not have been much of a life they let me have, but it was still a life of sorts."

He saw her unhappy grimace at his reply and several things seemed to coalesce in his mind. He suddenly wondered if someone – someone close to her - had been imprisoned, or if _she_ had been the one caught. It would explain much of her attitude towards him he realised. The relief she'd shown when his tracker band had been removed. The extra care she took not to mention the Tower or his circumstances there unless someone else did first. And she was always hesitant whenever the subject _did_ arise he recalled. Ianto glanced at the Captain. Those bright blue eyes were watching Tosh a bit too intently to be casual and Ianto knew he was right or very close to it. Ianto blinked startled as the Captain suddenly looked straight at him and winked with a wide grin.

"Torchwood has always been single-minded in its approach to aliens and their tech, Tosh," Jack said after a brief second to appreciate the abrupt pinkness that washed over Ianto's face. "And we all know the danger that working here carries."

"I was with One for two years before this happened, Toshiko," Ianto remarked. "I was always aware of what could and would happen if ever there was an incident. I can't say that I was ever really surprised with what they did to us or to me afterwards."

"And that is why I run Three the way I do," Jack added. "I've never agreed with much of Torchwood's policies and Charter so Cardiff is as independent as I can make it."

"But now you'd be the Director of all Torchwood branches, wouldn't you?" Suzie queried.

"Yes," Jack said with a small grimace. "But I don't intend to rebuild London and Two will manage just as well as it always does and unless Four reappears any time soon, we will be staying just as we are here."

"What about the other survivors?" Ianto asked. "Will they come here or to Two?"

"They won't be coming here," Jack stated firmly. "I don't want anyone from One getting in here." Owen's rough bark of laughter interrupted him and he frowned. Owen pointed at a bemused Ianto.

"Bit late there, Jack. One's already here." He laughed again and Jack waved his hand dismissively.

"Not what I meant, Owen and you know it," he almost growled. "Ianto's not some brown-nosing, mindless minion with visions of rebuilding the Empire and laying his life down for Queen and country along the way if needed."

"I could be," Ianto said in a dry manner without thinking and then froze as everyone looked at him. Owen and Suzie fell about laughing and Tosh dissolved into giggles. Jack did his best to look offended before pointing at the young man.

"You, Mr Jones, are a tease," he proclaimed before grinning at the blushing Welshman.

Ianto ducked his head to avoid the twinkling blue eyes. He hadn't meant to say anything and if he had been in the Tower he certainly wouldn't have. He had developed a strong set of 'brain-brakes' early on in his detainment. The black humour he had shared with his team had been lost under the strict and stern gazes of a procession of humourless and pedantic scientists and doctors. Two weeks of being alone with just Tosh and Suzie had relaxed him slightly and he had come to see that Cardiff was rather different to London. The return of the Captain and Dr Harper had worried him, but barely an hour after they'd arrived and he was seeing a whole new side to Torchwood Three. A side that was as unsettling as it was reassuring.

"No-one teases more than you do, Jack," Suzie admonished the Captain around a laugh.

"Well, I _am_ rather good at it," Jack leered at them all and Owen groaned.

"Spare us Harkness," he said before waving a pork-laden fork at Ianto. "Don't worry birdman, we'll make sure you don't pick up any of his bad habits," Owen told him around his mouthful.

"So I shouldn't copy you either," Ianto queried before he could stop himself and the others burst into laughter as Owen choked on the pork.

It took them several moments to control themselves with the girls, Suzie especially, taking every opportunity to reveal quite a few of Owen's habits – bad and otherwise. Jack watched with complete amusement and Ianto was struck by the ease between them. It was almost like watching a family banter around the dinner table, like watching a team at play and that thought had Ianto feeling a dull ache in his chest.

"Okay kids," Jack announced as they calmed down again. "Time you lot were at home. Call it an eight o'clock start tomorrow."

"It's only half-five," Suzie protested.

"I know," Jack replied. "But Owen needs to catch up on his sleep and you and Tosh need a break after being here continuously for the last two weeks."

"We took it in turns to cover the nights," Tosh pointed out. "We haven't been here all the time."

"Doesn't matter," Jack told her. "You were still on call. Tonight you're not."

"And what if anything happens tonight?" Suzie asked pointedly.

"Ianto and I will cover it," Jack said casually and everyone stared at him. Ianto was completely startled and the rest of the team was equally surprised.

"You can't!" Owen exclaimed. "Birdman's not cleared medically for starters."

"How do you feel, Ianto?" Jack asked and Ianto barely had "fine" out of his mouth before Jack rounded back to Owen with a "See, he's fine. Nothing to worry about."

"No way, Jack!" Owen protested.

"Be serious Jack," Suzie ordered him firmly and Jack held up his hand to stop them from continuing.

"I am being serious. Ianto knows how to co-ordinate from the Hub. You did tell me that he'd been your back up several times. He can do the same for me if, and I repeat _if_, anything happens." Jack looked at them all. "If there turns out to be a pack of weevils or if the world tries to end I will call you in, but otherwise I think Ianto and I can manage just fine for one night." Jack spoke calmly and simply and the others frowned in thought. Ianto kept silent his thoughts whirling madly.

"You promise to call us in if anything serious occurs?" Tosh questioned.

"I promise," Jack replied.

"And the birdman will stay here and co-ordinate," Owen stated bluntly.

"Yes," Jack nodded.

"Okay," Suzie said slightly begrudgingly. "You do realise that one of us will check the logs tomorrow to make sure of it, don't you?"

Jack laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"And you will finish telling us about Canary Wharf too," Suzie added. "We'll let you get away with the distraction tonight but that's all."

"You're too sharp, my Suzie," Jack smiled as he acknowledged her hit.

Suzie huffed good-naturedly. "You can be too obvious sometimes, Jack."

"Like most of the time," Owen retorted as he stood up and stretched. "Okay then, I'm off. Medical at eight-thirty birdman. Make sure you're there."

"You said nine earlier," Ianto said.

"That was before I knew I was going to be here at eight," Owen replied haughtily with a frown at Jack.

"Owen does like his sleep-ins," Tosh said to Ianto in a quasi-whisper loud enough for Owen to hear.

"Usually alcohol induced," Suzie added with a knowing nod and unrepentant grin.

Owen bit off a curse and stomped out of the room, his hand flung behind him in a one-fingered salute.

"Likewise, Owen," Suzie called after him. She looked at Jack. "He'll probably hit the bars, you know that, right?"

Jack nodded. "I know. But he really needs the night off. The last couple of weeks have been hard on him. If things go belly-up tonight I'll be calling you in for support."

"Good," Suzie nodded back. She looked at Ianto. "You'll be fine," she told him.

"Thank you," he replied at a loss to say anything else.

Tosh patted his arm. "Of course he'll be fine. We taught him well," she said with a reassuring smile.

Ianto wanted to tell her he didn't need reassuring but as they began to pack up to leave he realised he was going be left here alone with the Captain and he suddenly wanted all the reassurance he could get. He busied himself with clearing the dinner remains and washing the cups, saying good night to the women as they left and wondering what would happen now.

"Suzie says you're doing well with the Archives," the Captain said from somewhere behind him.

"As well as I can, Sir," Ianto replied. "They do need a fair bit of work," he added just managing not to sound too critical.

Jack laughed. "They need a _lot_ of work. No need to be polite to me. I know how bad they are."

"Then I don't need to say it," Ianto retorted and suddenly turned with a rustle of feathers and wet hands. "I'm sorry, that was…"

"It was nothing but the truth." Jack sauntered closer to the kitchenette and leant against the wall. "This isn't London, Ianto, you're quite free to voice your opinion just like the others do. We're a small team and you're one of us now."

Ianto stared at the Captain.

"It's been two years since I was with a team," he said abruptly. "I don't know if… if I know how anymore."

Jack smiled and Ianto was struck by how incredibly gentle it appeared as was Jack's reply. "You already _are_ part of the team, Ianto."


End file.
